A lawsuit aimed at stopping parts of Senate Bill 63 from going into effect has succeeded, at least for now. On Friday, Federal Judge Victoria Calvert ruled in favor of Plaintiffs the Atlanta-based Barred Business Foundation, and Athens residents John Vodicka and Steve Williams. They were fighting new restrictions on nonprofits, charitable organizations, who provide bail money for inmates unable to pay. SB 63 would have limited bailouts to three per year.
Vodicka and Williams run a cash-bond charitable organization out of the church they attend. Barred Business also bails people out of jail.
Judge Calvert ruled the bond limit is unconstitutionally vague. The Court also sustained the challenges to the bond limit and surety requirement. The judge granted the request for a preliminary injunction and ordered that the bond limits cannot be enforced during the pending litigation.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU of Georgia.
