TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 25, 2020

Civil Rights Corps, the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law and the law firm Baker Donelson have filed a federal class action lawsuit against Hamblen County General Sessions Judge Doug Collins, the circuit court clerk, county sheriff and county commissioners. The suit claims the county imposes and enforces unaffordable money bail on people arrested for misdemeanors and felonies in violation of their constitutional rights. The result, according to the suit, is that those who cannot afford to pay are detained indefinitely — leading to overcrowding and inhumane conditions in the jail — while those who can pay are freed immediately. Read more in a press release from the groups. Recent press coverage from Knoxnews and the New York Times also has brought attention to the situation.