ACLU of ConnecticutKonto zweryfikowane

The court has allowed us to expand our lawsuit to challenge the way the City of Stamford sets people’s bail amounts, which means the City is also now a defendant in the case.

We’re still fighting to defend Michael’s First Amendment right to protest the police. And now, we’re also fighting to end the discriminatory and dangerous way that Stamford, like many towns and cities across Connecticut, sets bail.

Connecticut law lets cities & towns set people’s bail when they’re arrested after 12 pm or on weekends, when the person can’t be taken directly to court for arraignment. For our client, this meant ...

the same Stamford police employee who arrested Michael for protesting (and violated the First Amendment in the process), also got to decide his bail amount. He set Michael’s bail at an extraordinarily high $25,000.

The Stamford police employee never interviewed Michael about if he could afford that fee. He even testified that his bail decision was retaliation for Michael’s 1st Amendment-protected protesting -- he said it was based on Michael’s “actions on the scene” and “personality.”

The City of Stamford didn't have a procedure for Michael to appeal the $25,000 bail decision. Unable to afford the cost of freedom, Michael was jailed in the Stamford police station, forcing him to miss work.

In the middle of the night, a state court official interviewed Michael, revised his bail amount to $0, and released him on a promise to appear later in court. (Later, when Michael did appear in court, a prosecutor nullified the charge.)

Michael’s experience of being arbitrarily imprisoned because he couldn't pay his way free is common in Stamford, where police frequently set bail too high. The police employee himself testified under oath that his bail amounts are changed by bail commissioners “all the time.”

Our client's story is a perfect example of why money bail shouldn’t exist. A person’s ability to leave jail and return home to fight charges after an arrest – including a wrongful arrest that violates the First Amendment – should not depend on money.

What Stamford did to Michael is sadly common across our state. His claims against the city should put other municipalities on notice and make them question why Connecticut continues its antiquated money bail system at all.