Ind. – Jonah Chester (WOWO) writes, “The state of Indiana is facing a lawsuit over a new law placing restrictions on charitable bail funds.”
Charitable organizations would be limited in who can be bailed out. There would also be a $300 fee for certification to some of these bail groups.
According to the legal director for the Indiana American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana (ACLU), Ken Falk states charitable bail funds will be affected. The new law does not target Bail Bond companies or individuals. Chester writes, “The Indiana ACLU filed the suit on behalf of the Bail Project, a national nonprofit which helps post bail for folks in jail, and the only large bail fund in Indiana.”
Falk argued the new law violates the Bail Project’s constitutional right to equal protection under the law and their First Amendment right of “expressive advocacy.” Last year, news outlets and Republican lawmakers alleged the project was posting bail for people who later committed violent crimes, allegations largely debunked by an Indianapolis Star investigation.
The new law would bar charitable funds, but not for-profit companies, from posting bail for people charged with a violent crime or anyone who has a prior violent crime conviction and is charged with a felony.
The law is tentatively set to go into effect in July, although Falk said the Indiana ACLU has filed for an injunction to block the policy while the case is litigated.
