In a major victory for civil rights groups, a federal judge has banned Dallas County from using a predetermined schedule to set bail without considering other amounts or alternatives that would allow the suspects' release from jail.
Though U.S. District Judge David Godbey's order is temporary, his ruling Thursday indicated that the groups that sued the county earlier this year "are substantially likely to prevail on the merits" of their arguments.
Godbey wrote that the policy of setting bail without regard for a defendant's ability to pay violated the constitutional rights of arrestees to equal protection under the law.
Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.
