Legal challenge to Dallas County’s cash bail system ends after U.S. Supreme Court declines to step in

By Pooja Salhotra, The Texas Tribune Jan. 8, 2024 “Legal challenge to Dallas County’s cash bail system ends after U.S. Supreme Court declines to step in” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. A six-year legal battle over Dallas County’s bail practices ended Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeals court decision. Daves v. Dallas County was filed in federal district court in 2018 by criminal defendants who argued the county’s pre-trial detention system discriminates against defendants who can’t afford bail. A district court judge issued a temporary order saying the county’s post-arrest procedures routinely violate the constitutional rights of inmates who can’t afford to pay for release as they await the resolution of their cases. U.S. District Judge David Godbey sided with the plaintiffs’ allegation that the county uses “wealth-based detention” by imposing pre-set bail amounts that often keep poor defendants locked up while wealthier ones go free. Godbey gave the...