TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 5, 2020

Davidson County unlawfully keeps poor people in jail, a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court claims. The suit, filed by ACLU of Tennessee, challenges a long-running cash bail policy in the city’s criminal courts, which requires defendants and their families to agree that money posted to ensure a release from jail can be held and seized as payment of court fees that have not yet been set. The group, which was joined in the effort by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Civil Rights Corps, Choosing Justice and the Nashville Community Bail Fund, argues the policy is unconstitutional. Read more or download the complaint from the Tennessean.