In an order that will have far-reaching effects throughout Georgia, a federal judge yesterday condemned the City of Calhoun’s money bail system – a system that permitted the wealthy to purchase their release from jail, while detaining the indigent for up to one week. The order came in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of indigent people charged with minor crimes in Calhoun, where city and court practices resulted in days of jail for people unable to afford to pay a monetary bond. The case, Walker v. City of Calhoun, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
SCHR Resources Search
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29th January 2016
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19th January 2016
The Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) applauds Governor Deal’s historic recognition of the rights of Georgia’s children. In his FY 2017 budget, the Governor has recommended funding the Georgia Public Defender Council (GPDC) for 20 juvenile public defenders to represent poor children in juvenile court.
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16th December 2015
Fulton County Commissioners are dragging their feet in making a decision about who should provide healthcare at the Fulton County Jail, posing a public health threat to jail staff, detainees, and ultimately the community.
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18th November 2015
On the eve of the next execution, a look at the state’s history of bad lawyering and faulty evidence.
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9th November 2015
Southern Center for Human Rights' President and Senior Counsel Stephen Bright, Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S.
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18th September 2015
ALBANY, GEORGIA – The Plaintiffs have reached a settlement with the City of Bainbridge in Edwards v. Red Hills Community Probation, LLC, et al., No. 1:15-cv-67-LJA (M.D.
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16th September 2015
In 2015, the Southern Center for Human Rights launched a new campaign to secure the release of people serving extremely long sentences for drug charges.
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8th September 2015
Calhoun, Georgia – A federal class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of indigent people charged with minor crimes in Calhoun, Georgia, where city and court practices result in days of jail for people unable to afford to pay
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27th July 2015
On June 13, 2015, Stephen Bright, President and Senior Counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights, provided concluding remarks to participants of the 2015 American Constitution
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26th May 2015
The United States Supreme Court heard arguments on November 2, 2015, on whether prosecutors engaged in race discrimination at Timothy Foster’s 1987 capital trial in Rome, Georgia, when prosecutors used their peremptory strikes to exclude black prospective jurors from jury service and then argued to the all-white jury that Foster should be sentenced to death for the murder of a white victim to “deter other people out there in the projects.” At the time, ninety percent of the families in the projects were black, including the Fosters. The jury sentenced Foster to death.
