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SB 63 makes cash bond mandatory for dozens of charges, most of them misdemeanors. When a person is arrested and accused of such an offense, SB63 forces a judge to set a cash bond—leaving that person incarcerated until they can pay to get bailed out of jail. Prior to the enactment of SB63 in July 2024, judges could consider critical factors such as a person’s strong family connections and community ties, employment record, and a history of following court requirements – factors that demonstrate a person’s ability to be safely released under less restrictive conditions. As a result, thousands of people have been incarcerated pretrial across the state of Georgia, simply because of poverty.

When we filed our lawsuit, named Plaintiff Sierrah Coronell had been incarcerated for 77 days because she cannot afford to pay her $600 cash bond. As directed by SB 63, the judge was not permitted to consider whether any release conditions other than cash bond would reasonably ensure her appearance in court and the safety of the public. Ms. Coronell, the mother and primary caregiver of 5 children ages 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15, has been unable to care for her children and was forced to miss her eldest daughter’s 15th birthday as a result of her incarceration.

Coronell, et al., v. Georgia, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, asks the Court to strike down SB63 as unconstitutional. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of people denied an individual determination of bail and Women on the Rise, a grassroots organization led by formerly incarcerated women that advocates for ending cash bail and pretrial incarceration.