ACLU-NJ Amicus Supports Federal Court Decision on Money Bail

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey praised a a federal ruling denying a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit by an insurance company for the bail bond industry that intended to overturn New Jersey’s Criminal Justice Reform Act, which went into effect this past January.

The act eliminated money bail in favor of a “risk-based assessment system.” Plaintiffs in the case, including Lexington National Insurance Corporation, sought to eradicate this reform by claiming that someone’s ability to buy their way out of jail and the conditions of pretrial release is a constitutional right. ACLU-NJ senior staff attorney Alexander Shalom called the decision “welcome” for anyone who “values fairness over fortune.”