PRACTITIONER BLOG
Read our analyses of developments in Impact Litigation and stay current on class action law
Summary Judgment Ruling is Major Victory Against Money Bail
Money bail sets a price tag on freedom by forcing arrestees to pay an arbitrary amount of money to secure release before trial. It is a common practice in criminal courts throughout the country and is a major contributor to creating one system of justice for the rich and another for the poor. In a major victory, Judge Troy L. Nunley of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California just granted summary judgment agreeing that Sacramento County’s bail system violates substantive due process because inability to afford bail results in a deprivation of liberty prior to trial.
Case Advances Challenging “Debtors' Prison” for Non-Payment of Bond Supervision Fees in Texas
Anderson County’s bond supervision fee is another example of criminalizing poverty, and another example of how Texas is a major civil rights battlefield right now. Ability to pay is not considered and not paying can mean jail time. In other words, pre-trial defendants can be incarcerated simply because they can’t afford a fee — a modern-day debtor’s prison.
Class Action Challenging Voter Suppression in Tennessee Survives Motion to Dismiss
Under Tennessee law, anyone convicted of a felony after 1981 is stripped of the right to vote. The result of this policy is that more than 9% of the total voting age population of Tennessee – and more than 21% of African-American voting age population – cannot vote. Despite more than 365,000 Tennesseans having completed their entire felony sentences, including probation and parole, only about 3,400 people have successfully obtained Certificates of Restoration since 2016 – less than 1%.