Dallas Cash Bail System Treats Poor Unfairly, Class Action Claims

Dallas County and local administrators have been hit with a class action alleging the cash bail system is unfair and unconstitutionally results in longer jail times for poor people.

The lead plaintiffs along with four nonprofits allege in their class action lawsuit that Dallas County’s cash bail system for the jail violates both the federal and Texas constitutions.

The system unfairly penalizes the poor by not taking into account their ability to pay when determining bail amounts, allege the plaintiffs, resulting in unequal treatment of people based on economic status.

The plaintiffs say that they were all detained in jail much longer than their wealthier counterparts because they were unable to pay steep bail amounts pre-determined under the Dallas County cash bail system. One plaintiff alleges that she is being kept in solitary confinement because she is transgender and unable to pay her $500 bail.

“In Dallas County, while wealthier arrestees are released from custody almost immediately upon payment of money to the County, arrestees like the Named Plaintiffs who are too poor to purchase their freedom remain in jail because of their poverty,” alleges the class action lawsuit.

The class action lawsuit points out that many of those in jail because they cannot pay bail are there for misdemeanor offenses. They allege that Dallas County’s cash bail system does not even allow them the opportunity to raise the issue of ability to pay until they have spent days or even weeks in jail.

“This mass detention based on wealth has devastating consequences for Plaintiffs, for their families, and for the community. Pretrial detention of presumptively innocent human beings causes people to lose their jobs and shelter, interrupts vital medication cycles, and separates parents and children,” alleges the class action lawsuit. “It coerces guilty pleas and results in longer sentences. Even a few days of pretrial detention make people more likely to commit crimes in the future and cost Dallas County tens of millions of dollars every year.”

According to the complaint, Dallas County requires all arrestees to pay bail to be released from jail. The bail amounts are based on the offense charged. If a person cannot afford the pre-determined amount, allege the plaintiffs, they are sent to jail until their first appearance in court in days, weeks, or even months.

Further, say the plaintiffs, arrestees’ first appearance in court does not generally provide the opportunity for them to bring up the ability to pay the bail amounts with the judge. The class action lawsuit points out that arrestees are presumptively innocent, but many pled guilty and accept time served as a sentence because they cannot afford bail.

The class action lawsuit alleges additional problems with the Dallas County cash bail system, including an arraignment process with no defense attorneys that is closed to the public. After the arraignment, allege the plaintiffs, those with access to funds for bail money are released; however, those who cannot pay are treated differently.

“Arrestees who tell the Sheriff’s deputies that they cannot afford to make the monetary payment will be assigned to a housing unit and confined to a jail cell after arraignment,” states the complaint. “Arrestees are housed together with convicted prisoners, under the exact same conditions.”

The lead plaintiffs are represented by Elizabeth Rossi, Alec Karakatsanis, and Premal Dharia of the Civil Rights Corps, Trisha Trigilio, Kali Cohn, and Andre Segura of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, Brandon J. Buskey of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, and Susanne Pringle and Emily Gerrick of the Texas Fair Defense Project.

The Dallas County Cash Bail Class Action Lawsuit is Daves, et al. v. Dallas County, Texas, et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-00154-N, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.