Challenge to Philly bail practices in Pennsylvania Supreme Court would have statewide ramifications

Press conference to announce filing of lawsuit, March 2019. Photo credit: (Ian Pajer-Rogers/ACLU of Pennsylvania)

by Hayden Nelson-Major

Pretrial detention — the practice of incarcerating a person before they have had their day in court — has devastating consequences, even after just a day or two.

Locking a person up pretrial can mean a lost job. It can mean a missed payment on an…