On Sunday, January 14, plaintiffs represented by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and Covington & Burling LLP filed a putative class action complaint challenging the use of money bail to detain poor arrestees. Dupree v. Hennessy, U.S. Dist. Ct., NDCA, Case No. 18-cv-310-MEJ.
Like Buffin, the Dupree case alleges that California’s bail laws are unconstitutional, and that the San Francisco Sheriff violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the federal Constitution by enforcing the bail schedule against poor arrestees.
On January 17, 2018, the Dupree plaintiffs filed an Administrative Motion to Relate their case with the Buffin case, arguing that the two cases “largely overlap” in parties, factual and legal issues involved, and relief sought. If the motion is granted, the Dupree case would reassigned from Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena to Judge Gonzalez Rodgers.
