Current:Home > InvestNational bail fund returns to Georgia after judge says limits were arbitrary-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
National bail fund returns to Georgia after judge says limits were arbitrary
View Date:2024-12-23 16:39:08
ATLANTA (AP) — The Bail Project, a national nonprofit that aids thousands of low-income people behind bars, said Monday it is reopening its Atlanta branch after a judge temporarily blocked part of a Georgia law that restricts organizations from helping people pay bail.
Last month, the Bail Project said it would no longer be able to help people post bond in Georgia because of a new Republican-backed law limiting people and organizations from posting more than three cash bonds in a year unless they meet extensive requirements to become bail bond companies.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and others sued, calling it a “cruel” law that “makes it illegal for people to exercise their First Amendment rights to help those who are detained solely because they are poor.”
U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert on July 12 granted a preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs, ruling that the three-bond limit is essentially arbitrary.
“Posting bail for others as an act of faith and an expression of the need for reform has an important history in this country,” Calvert said.
The Bail Project now says it is resuming operations in Atlanta.
“Our support of 31,000 people nationwide – including 1,600 in Atlanta – who returned to 91% of their court dates provides compelling evidence that cash bail is unnecessary, and that investment in better pretrial infrastructure and supportive services offers better solutions,” the organization said in a statement. “We’re grateful for this ruling and hope that it becomes permanent.”
The Georgia Attorney General’s Office is appealing. It has argued that the law does not violate the plaintiffs’ right of free speech and association because it only regulates non-expressive conduct. The state says the challengers can still criticize Georgia’s cash bail system and paying bail does not inherently convey any message.
Supporters of the measure have argued that well-meaning organizations should have no issue following the same rules as bail bond companies. Those include passing background checks, paying fees, holding a business license, securing the local sheriff’s approval and establishing a cash escrow account or other form of collateral.
The measure comes amid conservative efforts to restrict community bail funds, which were used to post bond for people involved in 2020 protests against racial injustice and, more recently, to free those jailed while protesting a new public safety training center being built near Atlanta.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- 'Full House' star Dave Coulier diagnosed with stage 3 cancer
- Flights for life: Doctor uses plane to rescue hundreds of dogs from high-kill shelters
- 'Bachelorette' heads to Hawaii for second-to-last episode: Who's left, how to watch
- Sheriff: A 16-year-old boy is arrested after 4 people are found dead in a park in northwest Georgia
- Kim Kardashian Says She's Raising Her and Kanye West's 4 Kids By Herself
- Lake Mary, Florida, rallies to beat Taiwan 2-1 in 8 innings to win Little League World Series title
- America's newest monuments unveil a different look at the nation's past
- US District Court Throws Out Federal Agency’s Assessment Allowing More Drilling for Fossil Fuels in the Gulf of Mexico
- Timothée Chalamet Details How He Transformed Into Bob Dylan for Movie
- Gunmen kill 31 people in 2 separate attacks in southwestern Pakistan; 12 insurgents also killed
Ranking
- Jason Kelce Jokes He Got “Mixed Reviews” From Kylie Kelce Over NSFW Commentary
- Mormon Wives Influencers Reveal Their Shockingly Huge TikTok Paychecks
- Deion Sanders discusses external criticism after taking action against journalist
- Jenna Ortega reveals she was sent 'dirty edited content' of herself as a child: 'Repulsive'
- ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ review: Darren Criss shines in one of the best musicals in years
- Matthew Stafford's Wife Kelly Stafford Shares Her Advice for Taylor Swift and Fellow Football Wives
- German police say 26-year-old man has turned himself in, claiming to be behind Solingen knife attack
- NASA Boeing Starliner crew to remain stuck in space until 2025, will return home on SpaceX
Recommendation
-
Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon’s 5th District, will be state’s first Black member of Congress
-
Mormon Wives Influencers Reveal Their Shockingly Huge TikTok Paychecks
-
'Bachelorette' heads to Hawaii for second-to-last episode: Who's left, how to watch
-
Maya Moore has jersey number retired by Minnesota Lynx in emotional ceremony
-
Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
-
‘Deadpool’ and ‘Alien’ top charts again as ‘Blink Twice’ sees quiet opening
-
NASCAR driver Josh Berry OK after scary, upside down collision with wall during Daytona race
-
Ohio prison holds first-ever five-course meal open to public on facility grounds