NYC Faces $300 Million Bill in Lawsuit Over Post-Bail Detention
New York City agreed to settle a case that accused its Department of Correction of keeping people in jail for hours or days after posting bail.
New York City could pay up to $300 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the Department of Correction of holding thousands of people in jail hours, in some cases days, after they paid bail.
Under the agreement, the city would pay each detainee $3,500 for every time their release was delayed by more than three hours after posting bail. The city and lawyers in the case estimate that 71,815 people were held for at least that long. That’s nearly everyone who entered the system and was released on bail since 2014, according to court documents.