LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The ACLU of Kentucky, along with independent, non-partisan research and policy organization KyPolicy, filed a motion for leave to file a “friend of the court” brief on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, supporting The Bail Project (TBP) in Troutt v The Bail Project. The organizations agree that Kentucky should not disincentivize individuals’ willingness to post bail for those who are awaiting trial by allowing others to sue them for actions that are beyond their control.
In 2022, the Troutts filed a complaint against TBP asserting that the nonprofit was negligent in posting bail for Michael DeWitt. A circuit court judge dismissed the case in 2022, and in 2024 an appeals court agreed.
“In Kentucky, everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and almost every one of them is also constitutionally entitled to post a money bail and remain out-of-custody until trial. The mere fact that an organization or a person, such as a family member or loved one, chooses to help a presumed-innocent defendant by posting their bail should not subject them to potential lawsuits for the defendant’s subsequent conduct. Were that the case, the judge who set the bail should likewise be liable.” said William Sharp, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Kentucky. “The Troutts’ argument, if accepted, would only exacerbate jail overcrowding in Kentucky by deterring family members, under the threat of potential lawsuits, from posting bail for their loved ones who are awaiting trial.” Sharp added.
“Kentucky already has a two-tiered system of justice where people with the financial means to afford bail are released while those with fewer economic resources remain in jail,” said Ashley Spalding, Research Director for the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. “This inequity will be exacerbated if the Troutts’ argument is accepted and it becomes more difficult for poor Kentuckians to draw on the support of family, friends and community members to mitigate the profound collateral consequences of pretrial incarceration in their court cases and in their lives.”
# # #