The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing Tennessee over a recently-enacted law that bars judges from considering whether an alleged criminal can afford bail when making the decision on whether to grant bail.
“Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Criminal Law Reform Project, ACLU of Tennessee, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of Just City Memphis to challenge the constitutionality of Tennessee’s unprecedented new bail law, arguing that the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment by mandating unfair bail hearing procedures and discriminatory wealth-based detention,” according to the ACLU.
Just City Memphis said it believes that the criminal justice system is too harsh on Memphians.
“The criminal legal system is fundamentally broken,” the group’s website says. “Justice remains out of reach for most people who encounter it. Restoring trust in this system will require meaningful reforms like those we are actively pursuing.”
Last year, Memphis had the highest murder rate of any major city in the United States.
Still, the ACLU thinks “bail reform” is the solution to high rates of violent crime.
“Bail reform works, and it was working in Shelby County. More Tennesseans were returning home to live peacefully in their communities,” said Trisha Trigilio (pictured above), senior staff attorney for the ACLU in the release. “This shameful legislation targets low-income and marginalized Tennesseans for pointless jail time. We will not allow Tennessee lawmakers to end successful bail reform for political gain.”
Those high rates of violent crime are why State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) introduced SB 2565 back in January. That bill passed the General Assembly and was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee (R) on May 1. It took effect on May 13.
“This lawsuit was as predictable as finding someone with a mullet at a tractor-pull!” Taylor told The Tennessee Star on Thursday. “Yet again, progressive anti-cash bail groups like Just City and Decarcerate Memphis are advocating for releasing more criminals on our streets. This law removes the ability of judges to let criminals out of jail pending trial based on how much money they happen to have in their pockets.”
“I will continue to fight for the safety of law-abiding citizens in our community. I’ve already been in communication with the Attorney General’s office and look forward to him defending our important work in the General Assembly to prioritize our community’s safety.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X/Twitter.
Photo “Trisha Trigilio” by Trisha Trigilio. Background Photo “Tennessee State Capitol Building” by Antony-22. CC BY-SA 4.0.
