Nashville bail fund wins federal suit aimed at helping poor people get out of jail Mariah Timms, Nashville Tennessean
Nashville courts will end a bail-holding practice that violated the Eighth Amendment, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
The nonprofit Nashville Community Bail Fund sued Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry earlier this year over a longstanding rule that required defendants and their families to agree that money posted to ensure a release from jail could be held and seized as payment of court fees that have not yet been set.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a suit in federal court on behalf of the bail fund in February.