After a federal judge temporarily blocked implementation of part of a restrictive new law that targets bail reform in Georgia, one group that challenged the measure in court now plans to attack its other provisions.
The ACLU of Georgia and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law Center won a temporary victory in federal court last Friday, when a judge issued a temporary restraining order against Senate Bill 63, which criminalizes bail funds and limits individuals to bailing out only three people per year. The judge’s order said that that portion of the law, which was supposed to take effect July 1, cannot go into effect for at least two weeks.
Now the ACLU plans to challenge another portion of the law, which expands the list of charges which now require cash bail, in court. That part of the law was not challenged in the original case.
“Not only is this law mean, it’s also counterproductive and makes us all less safe. We are encouraged by the first win in this litigation and are hopeful that as we go forward justice will continue to prevail.” said Cory Isaacson, legal director for the ACLU of Georgia. She said the plaintiffs are encouraged by the judge’s ruling and expect the court to impose a preliminary injunction at some point between now and the end of the temporary restraining order.
“[This law] essentially criminalizes community, helping community,” Isaacson said.
Bail funds offer assistance to all low-income people who have been arrested, but Black Atlanta would bear the brunt of the burden if they cease to exist. In a city where the average white household has 46 times the wealth as the average Black household and a Black resident is over 14 times more likely to be arrested for a low-level offense, charitable bail funds end up being many people’s only option.
“In a state that has the highest incarceration rate, not only in the country but in the world, we should be moving in the direction of detaining fewer people, and with SB 63 not only do we mandate detention for more offenses, the state criminalizes churches, charities and individuals from helping their neighbors go free,” Isaacson said.
The ACLU of Georgia and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection sued Gov. Brian Kemp on behalf of John Cole Vodicka and Steve Williams, who run a bail fund through their Methodist church in Athens, and Barred Business, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that regularly posts bail for low-income residents.
“The cash bail system is fundamentally unfair, benefiting the rich and punishing the poor,” said Katie Poor, general counsel for The Bail Project, one of the largest national organizations that posts bail for low-income people, in a statement to Capital B Atlanta.
The Bail Project is an example of how, even as it faces a temporary pause in federal court, SB 63 has already impacted the work of organizations helping low-income incarcerated people.
Early last month, The Bail Project announced it would stop operating in Georgia by June 10 in response to the governor’s decision to sign SB 63. Last year, 87% of the people it bailed out in Fulton and DeKalb counties were Black.
The group is monitoring the ongoing litigation in this case to assess whether there is a possibility of resuming operations in Georgia in the future, according to Poor.
“We are heartened by the court’s recognition of what we have long argued — that this law, if put into effect, would lead to wealth-based detention by stripping low-income Georgians of access to supportive services provided by bail funds,” said Poor.
