ACLU reaches out of court settlement against Georgia court

The American Civil Liberties Union has settled its federal lawsuit against a DeKalb County Georgia judge and Judicial Correction Services Inc., claiming the court and private company's debt collection practices led to poor people being jailed because they couldn't pay.

JCS is the same company that has faced multiple lawsuits in Alabama over similar issues. At one point JCS had contracts to provide probation services for about 100 of Alabama's roughly 250 cities.

The ACLU stated in a press release issued Thursday morning that the Georgia settlement agreement includes policy changes that could serve as a model for courts across the country.

The ACLU lawsuit is among a growing number filed against JCS or cities in Alabama and elsewhere regarding the jailing of municipal court defendants for failing to pay fines.

The City of Gadsden's municipal court judge and prosecutor were sued in February by The Ordinary People Society, an Alabama-based group, regarding what the group calls a "fine or time" or "pay or stay" policy. That lawsuit states that non-indigent people who pay their fines avoid jail time while poor people who can't afford it serve time in jail. 

Harpersville and Childersburg, which both contracted with JCS and also face lawsuits, recently pointed the finger at JCS in court filings.