No jail over bail: city sued.

• Author: Ciaramella, C.J.
• Position: Calhoun, Georgia - Citings

Jailing poor defendants because they can't afford bail is both unconstitutional and bad public policy, the Justice Department argued in August.

In an amicus brief to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Maurice Walker, a mentally ill Georgia man who was jailed for six days when he couldn't afford to post bail, the Justice Department said schemes that don't consider an indigent defendant's ability to pay infringe on people's rights. "In addition to violating the Fourteenth Amendment, such bail systems result in the unnecessary incarceration of people and impede the fair administration of justice for indigent arrestees," the Justice Department wrote.

Walker is suing the city of Calhoun, Georgia, for locking him up for nearly a week over a $160 fixed cash bond. He was arrested on charges of being a pedestrian under the influence. Walker, 54, has...