Judge clears way for suit over how bail is set

A federal judge’s ruling has cleared the way for defendants to sue over how bail is set in Trousdale County, one of a series of lawsuits claiming that Tennessee counties set the amounts arbitrarily.
U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell in Nashville granted class action status to a lawsuit filed by attorney Jerry Gonzalez on behalf of William Tate and others with similar complaints.
The lawsuit contends the county’s process of setting bail is unconstitutional in that it is “arbitrary’’ and doesn’t individually review each case to determine if a defendant poses a flight risk.
Gonzalez has filed similar lawsuits in several counties. Settlements were reached in Wilson and Rutherford counties. A lawsuit is pending in McNairy County, and Gonzalez said he plans to file one against Sumner County.
“As I locate plaintiffs, I will be suing counties everywhere in Tennessee... until they all start doing it right,’’ Gonzalez said. “It’s just ludicrous.’’
An attorney representing Trousdale County had no comment on the judge’s ruling.
However, according to Campbell’s memorandum, the “defendant argues that plaintiff has no colorable or viable claim and, therefore, cannot proceed to represent the interests of the proposed class.’’
Campbell disagreed. “The Court finds that plaintiff has sufficiently pled a colorable or viable claim under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments,’’ he wrote.
Tate was arrested last year at his home on a domestic assault charge, which was eventually dropped, according to the original complaint. At the time of his arrest, Tate was informed that his bail was $2,500.
However, the complaint states that at “no time was the plaintiff presented to a judicial commissioner for the determination of bail and ... he was not questioned as to his employment, length of residence in the county, ownership of real property, family connections, or about any other factor which could reasonably or legally be used to make a fair and impartial determination of his likelihood to flee.’’
Gonzalez said he wants Trousdale and other counties to “start setting bail in a nonarbitrary manner.’’
“If you’re arrested for DUI, for example, it’s $1,000 no matter who you are,’’ he said. “That’s not the purpose of bail. Bail has to be individually assessed.’’