TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 5, 2024

The legal battle in Shelby County over a new state law that restricts how judges set bail will impact local taxpayers, says Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Bill Anderson. According to the Daily Memphian, Anderson, citing experience with similar suits, estimates court costs and attorneys’ fees could reach into the millions of dollars if a lawsuit challenging the new state law is successful. Just City and the ACLU have sued over the law, arguing it disproportionately affects low-income individuals. The county previously used a financial assessment tool to calculate bail, but a new state law bans the consideration of an individual's ability to pay when setting bail.