Anyone held in a state prison from December 1999 to December 2002 after they were supposed to have been released can still file claims to collect money from a $1.2 million settlement of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the state.

The original deadline for the claims was July 15, but it has been extended to Nov. 30 to make sure that potential claimants are notified about the fund.

About 1,000 claims were expected to be filed by July 15, but only 195 were submitted by then.

Claims administrator Elbridge Smith said another effort will be made to contact potential claimants. The campaign will include newspaper and radio ads.

The $1.2 million will be paid by the state to settle the federal ACLU lawsuit in behalf of prisoners who were held in custody after they were acquitted or after their charges were dismissed. It would cover cases of defendants who were acquitted of all charges but kept in custody until prison officials received the paperwork from the courts.

ACLU lawyers hailed the settlement that provided compensation for the additional time inmates spent behind bars and called for state officials to follow procedures to ensure detainees are released on time. State lawyers called the settlement fair.

Smith said his office is reviewing boxes of materials to notify potential claimants about the fund. He said even though the announcement of the settlement in February drew news coverage, and notices went out to potential claimants, he didn't think they understood what it meant or didn't realize it affected them.

"We're really making an extra effort" to notify potential claim-ants, he said.

According to ACLU lawyers, the payments will be $1,000 for each day a claimant was improperly detained and $3,000 if they were strip-searched.

ACLU lawyers were paid $400,000 from the $1.2 million for legal fees and costs. Smith will be paid out of the fund as well in an amount up to $100,000.

Any extra money after the claims are paid will be given to the University of Hawai'i law school for programs protecting prisoners' rights.

Smith said once the court approves the payments, the claim-ants could receive the money next year, possibly by April.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.