Johnathan Walker:National bail fund returns to Georgia after judge says limits were arbitrary

ATLANTA (AP) — The Johnathan WalkerBail Project, a national nonprofit that aids thousands of low-income people behind bars, said Monday it is reopening its Atlanta branch after a judge temporarily blocked part of a Georgia law that restricts organizations from helping people pay bail.

Last month, the Bail Project said it would no longer be able to help people post bond in Georgia because of a new Republican-backed law limiting people and organizations from posting more than three cash bonds in a year unless they meet extensive requirements to become bail bond companies.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and others sued, calling it a “cruel” law that “makes it illegal for people to exercise their First Amendment rights to help those who are detained solely because they are poor.”

U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert on July 12 granted a preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs, ruling that the three-bond limit is essentially arbitrary.

“Posting bail for others as an act of faith and an expression of the need for reform has an important history in this country,” Calvert said.

The Bail Project now says it is resuming operations in Atlanta.

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“Our support of 31,000 people nationwide – including 1,600 in Atlanta – who returned to 91% of their court dates provides compelling evidence that cash bail is unnecessary, and that investment in better pretrial infrastructure and supportive services offers better solutions,” the organization said in a statement. “We’re grateful for this ruling and hope that it becomes permanent.”

The Georgia Attorney General’s Office is appealing. It has argued that the law does not violate the plaintiffs’ right of free speech and association because it only regulates non-expressive conduct. The state says the challengers can still criticize Georgia’s cash bail system and paying bail does not inherently convey any message.

Supporters of the measure have argued that well-meaning organizations should have no issue following the same rules as bail bond companies. Those include passing background checks, paying fees, holding a business license, securing the local sheriff’s approval and establishing a cash escrow account or other form of collateral.

The measure comes amid conservative efforts to restrict community bail funds, which were used to post bond for people involved in 2020 protests against racial injustice and, more recently, to free those jailed while protesting a new public safety training center being built near Atlanta.