Excessive Bail-Lawsuit

[Taxing Matters]

TN Code § 40-11-105 (2019)
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), in no event may a clerk set the amount of bail in excess of:

(1) One thousand dollars ($1,000) if the defendant is charged with a misdemeanor;

I believe it also applies to the judge.

The limit of $1,000 in that statute only applies when the clerk sets the bail. Look at the part of the statute I put in bold: it specifically tells you that paragraph (b) only limits the powers of the clerk, not the judge. So that statute does not help you here.

Without knowing all the details of your case — what all the charges were, what the maximum possible penalties were, etc., I cannot say if the court imposed excessive bail. However, if the maximum penalty that could be imposed for the offense was $50 with no other possible penalty (e.g. no possible jail time, etc), then imposing a $10,000 bail requirement would clearly be excessive.

[Edward333]

The charges would have been : Driving on suspended - class b - 6 months. 2: Resisting arrest- maybe 30 day. 3: Improper tag- not sure. 4: Expired tag - $50. 5: No insurance - $50. I'm on pretrial probation for all of them, but even my court appointed lawyer doesn't have the citation. I've never seen it.

And BTW, my last conviction for driving on suspended was 15+ years ago. If the ruling is still valid from 2 years ago, the suspension violated my rights. Suspended for fines and fees.

I can't find them quickly, but I have rulings which says traffic judges are clerks.

[free9man]

The charges would have been : Driving on suspended - class b - 6 months. 2: Resisting arrest- maybe 30 day. 3: Improper tag- not sure. 4: Expired tag - $50. 5: No insurance - $50. I'm on pretrial probation for all of them, but even my court appointed lawyer doesn't have the citation. I've never seen it.

And BTW, my last conviction for driving on suspended was 15+ years ago. If the ruling is still valid from 2 years ago, the suspension violated my rights. Suspended for fines and fees.

I can't find them quickly, but I have rulings which says traffic judges are clerks.

Traffic judges are not clerks. You are misreading something.

As I pointed out earlier, the ruling regarding license suspensions for fines was overturned in May.

[flyingron]

You're misunderstanding something. Municipal (City) court judges in Tennessee are not clerks. There are separate Municipal Court Clerks. The clerk is empowered to do limited things with regard to resolving traffic citations and other minor offenses, but the Judge is a Judge and the Clerk is a Clerk. The state Constitution allows the legislature to enact laws establishing a court system and they have passed a state law providing for the municipal courts in all areas of the state. Those judges are judges to the full extent of the authority authorized by enacted law.

[Fuzzz]

I'm on pretrial probation for all of them, but even my court appointed lawyer doesn't have the citation. I've never seen it.

Your lawyer has access to all of that. Often times the court appointed attorneys receive a packet with all the documents in it. If there are no issues with them they don't always give copies to the defendant as you should have received court documents at arraignment with all the charges listed. If you ask your lawyer I'm sure he could provide you a copy. If he can't even figure out how to get those things then I would suggest hiring your own lawyer.

And BTW, my last conviction for driving on suspended was 15+ years ago. If the ruling is still valid from 2 years ago, the suspension violated my rights. Suspended for fines and fees.

That ruling was overturned on May 23, 2020 by the Sixth circuit. If you would have applied for relief during the preliminary injunction you probably could have gotten your license back as long as it was only suspended for fines, fees, or court costs. But since that decision was overturned you lost your chance to correct it. You could file for an appeal and try to take it to the supreme court to get it overturned, but good luck with that.

I can't find them quickly, but I have rulings which says traffic judges are clerks.

What? That makes no sense. I would love to see a ruling that says anything like that.

[Edward333]

Your lawyer has access to all of that. Often times the court appointed attorneys receive a packet with all the documents in it. If there are no issues with them they don't always give copies to the defendant as you should have received court documents at arraignment with all the charges listed. If you ask your lawyer I'm sure he could provide you a copy. If he can't even figure out how to get those things then I would suggest hiring your own lawyer.



That ruling was overturned on May 23, 2020 by the Sixth circuit. If you would have applied for relief during the preliminary injunction you probably could have gotten your license back as long as it was only suspended for fines, fees, or court costs. But since that decision was overturned you lost your chance to correct it. You could file for an appeal and try to take it to the supreme court to get it overturned, but good luck with that.




What? That makes no sense. I would love to see a ruling that says anything like that.

Apparently my court appointed lawyer doesn't have the citation. I wish I could afford to hire one.

Just found where the ruling was overturned. It was in 2019, not 2020. Thanks for the info though.

The clerk ruling...I was slightly mistaken on.
It says traffic judges doesn't rule in their official capacity but as officers of the court. Clerk is an officer of the court, and I think I saw another ruling that says that, but I'm unable to locate it.

Seriously, thanks again for info about the case being overturned.

[cbg]

I think you are likely to find that, while all clerks may be officers of the court, not all officers of the court are clerks.

[Fuzzz]

Apparently my court appointed lawyer doesn't have the citation.

Regardless of whether he has it or not what do you hope to gain from seeing it? If you have already been arraigned then you are aware of the charges you face. Are you hoping to try and find some technicality in the citation to get off on?

Just found where the ruling was overturned. It was in 2019, not 2020. Thanks for the info though.

While they may have argued it in 2019, the ruling by the Sixth Circuit was filed on May 20, 2020. ( I was 3 days off before.) So the ruling is only 2 months old. Here is the info if you want to read the opinion:


20a0285n.06 18-6121 05/20/2020 Fred Robinson v. Jeff Long - Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville

[RJR]

1: Judges are libel in their personal capacity when they violate your rights. See : “Sovereign immunity does not apply where (as here) government is a lawbreaker or jurisdiction is the issue.”
Arthur v. Fry, 300 F.Supp. 622.

First of all it is LIABLE, not LIBEL. Second, there is no such passage or quote as you quote in that ruling, nor is any phrase close. This proves without any legal doubt, that you are merely copying and pasting someone elses interpretations that suit you, period.

[Edward333]

Regardless of whether he has it or not what do you hope to gain from seeing it? If you have already been arraigned then you are aware of the charges you face. Are you hoping to try and find some technicality in the citation to get off on?

That's just it, I was giving bail, but I was never arraigned. I never given a copy of the citation, nor informed of the charges and penalties. All they did was take me before the judge, ask that bail not be reduced then locked me up for 7 days. I was only told of bail and amount while in booking.

First of all it is LIABLE, not LIBEL. Second, there is no such passage or quote as you quote in that ruling, nor is any phrase close. This proves without any legal doubt, that you are merely copying and pasting someone elses interpretations that suit you, period.

Some things I may not have checked, but I have checked the main concern. If judges violate your rights, they can be held accountable and sued in their individual capacity.

All acts must be within constitutional limits.