I see that she was, yes. She was evidently given bond and allowed to make the call after 4 hours. She apparently couldn't make the bond that night and stayed in jail overnight. While holding her overnight on bond is not a violation of her rights, not allowing access to a bathroom and/or not providing her her medication might be. However, even if that was a violation of her rights, it would not result in dismissal of the charges. It would instead be the possible basis for a civil lawsuit against the jail. The issue, though, is what damages she suffered as a result of it. If she suffered little in the way of damages (e.g. no medical expenses incurred, no physical injury, etc.) then there is nothing for which to sue.
She needs to subpoena the CCTV footage from all cameras 1 hour before the incident and 1 hour after the incident. If this chain has a red star in their logo, you need to move fast, they don't save footage that long. They also usually have CCTV in the camera control room and the holding area. It is key to obtain all footage.
She will also need to subpoena the employee who helped her out and have her deposed and/or testify on her behalf.
Thanks to all for the feedback so far. Sounds like she needs to find some counsel ASAP. Any thoughts on places to search for good attorneys who are reputable and are reasonable? To provide some additional detail
- she was booked at 6, got her phone call around 10. Cash was presented for bond by midnight, but the release did not happen until 11am the next day
- not the dept store with the red star, but another mid-high level department store. Will have someone check with the LP dept on footage
- there was no toilet in her holding cell. they apparently put her in a separate area from the hardened criminals and it was a small room with no toilet
- not a small rural town. biggest metro area in the state, very big, very busy
- despite speaking english well, it's not her first language and being a foreigner probably did not help her in this case, especially when it came to signing the document (which she says they forced her to do to prevent calling the police)