JAIL Act

The JAIL Act creates a new federal civil liability pathway aimed at accountability for bail decisions involving repeat violent offenders. If a judge or another government entity issues an order releasing a defendant on bail pending trial and that defendant harms someone during the release, the harmed person (or their immediate family if the victim is deceased) can sue the judge or the releasing government entity in a federal district court seeking damages. The bill explicitly says that judicial immunity is not a defense in these civil actions. It defines a “covered defendant” as someone charged with a crime of violence who has previously been convicted of a crime of violence, with “crime of violence” to be understood as defined in 18 U.S.C. §16. The term “judge” includes both federal and state judges. In short, the bill seeks to deter lenient pretrial release for certain repeat violent offenders by allowing civil lawsuits against judges and releaseing government entities when such releases lead to harm, with damages available to victims or their families.