ATLANTA, GA – In a move last week to stop Georgia’s Senate Bill 63, 39 prosecutors and justice leaders filed an amicus brief in the case of Barred Business v. Kemp, currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, arguing SB 63 unconstitutionally criminalizes charitable bail payments and harms pretrial justice.
Amy Fettig, acting co-executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, stated SB 63 is a direct attack on charitable organizations that post bail for those unable to afford it.
Fettig said, “This unconstitutional law exacerbates wealth-based detention and will lead to unnecessary pretrial incarceration of people who pose no public safety risk, with devastating consequences for individuals and communities.”
According to a FJP statement, the organizations at risk “have come together to pool resources to secure the release of loved ones,” especially for those with the inability to pay bail.
Alongside providing adequate funds for bail, these organizations also provide different services to low income families such as transportation, court reminders, and connections to community resources.
FJP said SB 63 would increase pretrial detention without public safety benefits and would harm the detained individuals, their families and communities, noting, “Even brief detention can lead to loss of employment, housing, assistance, education, and child custody while restricting access to essential health care.”
According to the statement, the restrictions imposed by SB 63 would further entrench the inequities of the cash bail system, disproportionately affecting low-income individuals.
The brief refers to research that indicates even a brief detention of 24 to 48 hours can heighten the risk of future criminal activity and reoffending, particularly among low-risk individuals, adding extended periods in custody increases the chances of new offenses and repeated imprisonment.
Michael Dougherty, district attorney for Colorado’s 20th Judicial District, said, “Poor people should not be in jail simply because they are poor.”
He added, speaking to the guidelines in place within the criminal system for bail-bond, “After a Court has carefully considered public safety and other factors, the Court sets a bail amount that is appropriate.”
Ramsey County, MN, Attorney John Choi noted charitable bail organizations respond to the disparities of the cash bail system by offering support to those who cannot afford bail.
Choi argued, “If enacted, laws like SB 63 would further entrench a two-tiered legal system in which justice is too often meted out on the basis of wealth rather than real concern for public safety. The path toward a better quality of safety and justice for all is to move from a wealth-based system to one that is based on actual risk.”
The prosecutors’ brief urges the Eleventh Circuit Court to uphold the District Court’s injunction blocking SB 63, emphasizing the law’s restrictions are both discriminatory and counterproductive, with no basis in public safety.
