U.S. Supreme Court upholds ruling that Houston bail system is unfair
HOUSTON -- Dozens of inmates who couldn’t afford bail were released from a Houston jail this week after a federal appeals court upheld a ruling that the county’s bail system unfairly discriminates against the poor.
Harris County officials had asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency order blocking the original ruling, which the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld on Tuesday. But Justice Clarence Thomas, without referring the case to the full court and without comment, rejected the county’s request on Wednesday. The county could still ask the Supreme Court to consider the case.
Harris County will comply with a court ruling by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal that has allowed dozens of inmates who can’t afford their bail to be freed, said First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard. However, the county will continue its appeal of the lower-court ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He said the county’s appeals court brief is due early next month.
Rosenthal ruled in April that the inmates could be released on personal bond. In her ruling, which was stayed pending Tuesday’s decision, Rosenthal said the bail system violated equal protection rights against wealth-based discrimination and violated due process protections against pretrial detention without proper procedures or an opportunity to be heard.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/supreme-court-upholds-ruling-that-houston-bail-system-unfair/it77HglJmJwtdU5ynxvIYM/
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