This article contains news with liberal commentary.
Judges moved quickly to drastically reduce the unconstitutional bail demanded by Lancaster, Pennsylvania police for 9 of 13 protesters arrested on Sunday, September 13, 2020, at bail hearings held on Thursday, September 17, 2020. The other 4 protesters haven’t had their bail hearings yet.
Several of those arrested walked out of jail without having to post cash bond or purchase bail bonds. Others were released to house arrest upon posting bail amounts ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.
The magistrate who originally set bail at $1 million for all 13 protesters reduced bail in 4 of the cases. Another judge reduced bail in 5 more cases.
One of those arrested was Taylor Enterline, 20 (photo), who said she was only there as a volunteer medic, and was treating injured protesters when arrested. Her bail was changed to an unsecured $50,000 bond, which means she doesn’t have to purchase a bail bond and only has to pay that amount if she fails to appear in court on the charges that police filed against her.
Police will have to prove those arrested committed specific criminal acts; if they can’t, they could be sued for false arrest, false imprisonment, and violating the protesters’ civil rights. Although the protest turned violent, witnesses at the scene described police randomly grabbing whoever they could, so it’s possible at least some of the charges will be dropped or fail in court.
The 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits excessive bail. It’s also unconstitutional to use bail to punish defendants who haven’t been tried or convicted. The purpose of bail is to ensure court appearances.
But rightwingers who don’t know due process from a fencepost hole cheered the million-dollar bail set for the protesters (see my original article here). Now they look like bleating idiots. Which, of course, they are.
Read story here; for additional details about the defendants and more mugshots, click here.
The prosecutors will go for getting plea deals. Then drop some of the cases they don’t believe they can prove ending any potential law suits, prosecutorial discretion and all that. And on the strong cases they will try, and see if they can prove these innocent protestors guilty of the charges. The court will throw the books at any who have the audacity of actually pleading not guilty when they are found guilty. And they may follow suit and write a great letter or novel while they are in jail or prison. It certainly did focus Martin Luther King,,,,not so much for Adolf Hitler it is a struggle to read Mein Kaumph and a struggle to make a great orators orations into a written work.
Randomly arresting people, holding them in jail under unconstitutional bail, and then dropping charges for lack of evidence certainly will not “end any potential lawsuits,” it will bring a cascade of tort claims, and rightfully so.