Jailed in Error, Plaintiff Told He Must Pay

A black engineer who was imprisoned for robberies he did not commit should pay $22,000 in legal fees to the Plano Police Department, a judge has recommended.

The interim order by U.S. Magistrate William F. Sanderson Jr. empathizes with Lenell Geter, 29, but criticized him for a “someone-has-to-pay” attitude.

Plano’s police force was one of five law enforcement agencies Geter accused of purposely linking him to a series of armed robberies.

Geter was convicted and sentenced to life in prison and served 16 months before he was cleared.

In November, 1985, the E-Systems employee and other black engineers filed an $8.2-million lawsuit against the prosecutors and police agencies involved in his case.

Geter’s supporters say he was targeted by authorities because he was black in a largely white area.

Plano was dismissed from the lawsuit in July.

Sanderson’s ruling last week in effect labels as frivolous Geter’s claims that Plano violated his civil rights by investigating him for the crimes.

Federal law “makes it abundantly clear that a person who harbors the subjective belief that he has suffered violations of his civil rights is not free to sue everyone in sight,” according to Sanderson’s interim order.

The ruling recommends that Geter, his lawyers and five co-plaintiffs be responsible for the $22,000 in legal fees to Plano.

The recommendation will be considered by U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders.

Geter, 29, said he was not surprised at the ruling.

“In my case, this particular magistrate has always taken pro-law enforcement positions, even though it has been proven that police misconduct and shoddy police work has been done in this particular case,” he said.

So far, Plano and Garland have been dismissed from the suit. Balch Springs, the Dallas County district attorney’s office and the Greenville Police Department remain as defendants.