Seek Supreme Court Ruling on Excessive Bail for the Poor

Press Release
December 21, 1967

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Press Releases, Volume 5. Seek Supreme Court Ruling on Excessive Bail for the Poor, 1967. 8b990a5e-b892-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/b3f14487-2a23-4fab-9764-92a144a23ef7/seek-supreme-court-ruling-on-excessive-bail-for-the-poor. Accessed April 29, 2025.

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President
Hon. Francis E. Rivers

PRESS RELEASE Director-Counset egal efense und Jack Greenberg

Director, Public Relations NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC,
: se DeVore, Je 10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 « JUdson 6-8397 NIGHT NUMBER 212-749-8487

FOR RELEASE
THURSDAY
December 21, 1967

SEEK SUPREME COURT RULING ON
EXCESSIVE BAIL FOR THE POOR

WASHINGTON---The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) and Mobilization for Youth, Inc. today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of New York State's money bail system,

Although the release of persons charged with crime if they are able to raise bail money has been the subject of criticism in recent years, the Supreme Court has never ruled on the problem.

Specifically, the attorneys seek resolution of the question of whether requiring bail from a poor person violates the Eighth Amend- ment to the Constitution which states that “excessive bail shall not be required."

The case involves Antonio Gonzalez, a 19-year-old youth who has been in jail since August 23, 1967 charged with assaulting a New York City police officer. The officer was working in an undercover capa- city disguised as a drug addict.

The officer was holding a narcotics suspect at gunpoint and was not in uniform.

Bail was originally set at $25,000 but was reduced by a criminal court judge to $1,000.

Gonzalez, who works as a clerk for Mobilization, has been able to obtain $100 frmrelatives and friends, more than the $50 legal pre- mium for a $1,000 bond.

He has been unable to obtain release, however, because bondsmen require collateral amounting to more than one-half of the $1,000. According to LDF attorney Michael Meltsner, Gonzalez' attorneys “urged the New York Court of Appeals to reduce bail because he had no previous criminal record and because he had roots in the Lower East Side and a social worker, employed by Mobilization for Youth, agreed to supervise him if released."

On December 7, the Court of Appeals found that the $1,000 bail was not unreasonable.

In addition to Mr. Meltsner, Gonzalez is represented by Jack Greenberg, director~-counsel of the LDF, Harold Rothwax, legal director of Mobilization for Youth, and Mobilization attorney Martin Spiegel.

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Seek Supreme Court Ruling on Excessive Bail for the Poor

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