MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Judge Bill Anderson says a lawsuit over a new state law that prevents judges from considering someone’s financial conditions when setting bail will cost Shelby County taxpayers.
Presiding Judge Anderson is among those being sued by the bail reform nonprofit Just City and the ACLU after the law sponsored by Shelby County Sen. Brent Taylor and Rep. John Gillispie went into effect in May.
Anderson said in 2021, the ACLU, Memphis attorneys, and others threatened to sue the county over its bail procedures. He said all the parties now being sued worked together for more than a year to reform the system and signed a standing bail order that specifically asked defendants about their financial status and how much they could pay for their bail.
Anderson said the changes to the bail system were working. He said those behind the new law had to know it would be challenged in court and cost the county a lot of money.
“Every bit of this litigation that’s going to happen, it’s going to affect every single taxpayer in Shelby County,” Judge Anderson said. “Make no mistake about it; the plaintiffs are coming at us with everything they’ve got. I would suspect that they are going to Shelby County, Tennessee an example that they hope the rest of the country will follow with the ruling from the federal court.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, requests a federal judge rule the law unconstitutional. Just City said the law keeps some people in jail simply because they are poor.
In a statement, Rep. John Gillespie said:
“Memphians are tired of career criminals exploiting the bail process to quickly return to our community and victimize others.”
Judge Anderson said he had no choice but to enforce the new law. He said the lawsuit would take dollars away from Shelby County’s budget, which could be used to fight crime in Memphis.
“We need to come up with programs that work, ways to get guns off the street, and a new jail—all sorts of things that could help Shelby County and Memphis,” said Judge Anderson. This litigation will do nothing but answer a question and cost a lot of money.”
Rep. Gillespie said he would continue advocating for policies that strengthen public safety in Shelby County.