cryptogon.com

But that was before she was rousted from bed at 5:30 a.m. last week and taken to the Broward County jail on orders of a circuit court judge who slapped Sando with a six-month sentence after she failed to show up for a hearing on a domestic battery complaint.

And in jail is where Sando remained Friday, without her motorized wheelchair, her service dog Fudge, her glasses or, as yet, any opportunity to appear in court and be represented by an attorney.

“This reminds me of a foreign country where there are no rights,” said Broward Chief Assistant Public Defender Steve Michaelson. “Without a hearing, she went directly to jail, just like in Monopoly. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.”

In a telephone interview Friday from the women’s lock-up in Pompano Beach, Sando said, “I’m pretty strong. So if this is the worst thing that happens to me in the new year, I’ll be grateful.”

Sando’s case is unusual not just because of her physical condition, according to Michaelson. Typically, when a defendant fails to appear for a civil court hearing, the judge orders the police to bring the missing person into court.

But along with her order to have Sando picked up, Judge Marina Garcia-Wood sentenced her to six months in jail. The judge added a provision that Sando could get out of jail in 60 days if she took a course on domestic violence.

In an emergency petition filed Thursday with the 4th District Appeals Court, Assistant Public Defender Sarah Sandler argued that Sando’s incarceration is unlawful. Sandler said Garcia-Wood “failed to comply with each and every requirement” of a rule of criminal procedure written to protect individuals from being sentenced to jail even before they are arrested.

“She is in jail without due process,” said Michaelson, adding that Sando was behind bars for at least three days before she even learned why she was there.