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Judge temporarily blocks Georgia law that prohibits people, groups from posting more than three bonds a year

Judge temporarily blocks Georgia law that prohibits people, groups from posting more than three bonds a year

A federal judge temporarily blocked part of a Georgia law on Friday that only allows people or organizations to post bonds three times a year if they do not meet the criteria for bail bond companies. U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert blocked part of Senate Bill 63 for 14 days before it could take effect on July 1, according to The Associated Press. The judge told lawyers to offer arguments on whether it should be stayed until a lawsuit over the legislation is resolved. The blocked section limits people and organizations from posting more than three cash bonds in a year unless they meet requirements for bail bond companies, which includes passing background checks, paying fees, holding a business license, securing the local sheriff’s approval and establishing a cash escrow account or other form of collateral. Calvert is allowing other parts of the law to take effect, including requiring cash bail before people who are charged with certain crimes can be released from pretrial detention. The list of 30 crimes includes 18 that are always or often misdemeanors, including failure to appear in court for a traffic citation. JUDGE ARRESTED AT ATLANTA NIGHTCLUB REMOVED FROM OFFICE FOR ‘JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT’ The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of Barred Business Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that facilitates campaigns to pay cash bail, and two Athens residents who run a charitable bail fund in association with their church. The lawsuit alleges that the law’s restriction on bail funds are unconstitutional and requests that the judge block it. The legislation “imposes what are arguably the most severe restrictions on charitable bail funds in the nation,” the lawsuit argues, adding that the limit on charitable bail funds is “incredibly burdensome — perhaps insurmountable — and is both irrational and arbitrary.” According to the lawsuit, the restrictions “will effectively eliminate charitable bail funds in Georgia.” The Bail Project, a national nonprofit that helps thousands of low-income people post bonds, announced earlier this month it was forced to close its Atlanta branch in response to the law. “We are encouraged by the judge’s ruling and its recognition that this law is unnecessary, harmful, and likely unconstitutional,” ACLU of Georgia legal director Cory Isaacson said in a statement. “We are relieved for our plaintiffs and the many people across the state that they serve. It’s unconscionable that people doing charitable bail work would face criminal penalties simply because they are helping people who are languishing in jail because of their poverty and have no other means of relief.” The state argued in a brief filed Thursday that the law does not violate the plaintiffs’ rights of free speech and association because it would only restrict conduct that does not involve speech, saying that the plaintiffs may still criticize Georgia’s cash bail system, and that paying bail does not inherently send any message. GEORGIA DAD FREED AFTER HOT CAR SEAT DEATH OF SON PUT HIM IN PRISON FOR MURDER Supporters of the measure say that well-meaning groups should not have an issue with following the same rules that bail bond companies must adhere to. The law comes amid Republican efforts to restrict community bail funds after they were used to post bonds for demonstrators arrested in 2020 protests against racial injustice and, subsequently, for demonstrators protesting against the construction of an Atlanta public safety training center, which has been dubbed “Cop City” by its opponents. State prosecutors have said that some “Stop Cop City” protesters had the Atlanta Solidarity Fund’s phone number written on their bodies, which they pointed to as evidence that the protesters planned to participate in illegal activity. Last year, three of the bail fund’s leaders were charged with charity fraud. They are among 61 people indicted on racketeering charges. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Chip Roy demands Kamala remove Biden via 25th Amendment

Chip Roy demands Kamala remove Biden via 25th Amendment

Rep. Chip Roy from Texas is pushing to force President Biden out of office via the 25th Amendment. The U.S. lawmaker from Texas introduced legislation this week that would urge Vice President Kamala Harris to bring together executives of the executive cabinet and jointly declare Biden unfit to continue as president. Roy introduced the resolution on Friday “calling on Vice President Kamala D. Harris to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments of the Cabinet to activate section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare President Joseph R. Biden incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as Acting President.” OBAMA DEFENDS BIDEN, HAMMERS TRUMP AFTER TELEVISED SHOWDOWN: ‘BAD DEBATE NIGHTS HAPPEN’ The resolution claims that Biden “has repeatedly and publicly demonstrated his inability to discharge the powers and duties of the Presidency, including, among others, the powers and duties of the Commander-in-Chief.” Section 4 of the 25th Amendment authorizes the vice president and a majority of the executive cabinet to make the decision whether the president is fit to continue in office or not. Biden has faced severe backlash following a disastrous debate performance on Thursday in which the president was seen visibly confused, mouth agape, and frequently unable to complete sentences. REPUBLICANS DECLARE BIDEN ‘UNFIT FOR OFFICE’ FOLLOWING ‘DISASTROUS’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE Biden appeared tired and unfocused at times during his 90-minute face-off with Trump. At one point, Trump fired back, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.” Some Democrats have floated the idea of pulling Biden out of the Democratic primary at the last second, despite the fact he’s been the overwhelming winner of every state. Such a radical move would certainly lead to legal battles, voter confusion, and a last-minute scramble for a new candidate to connect with the American people. Republicans have seized the moment as vindication after years of questioning the president’s mental acuity but being denied by the mainstream media and political insiders.

Former Biden staffer calls for president to decline nomination after debate performance: ‘Very heavy heart’

Former Biden staffer calls for president to decline nomination after debate performance: ‘Very heavy heart’

Jamie Metzl, who worked for President Biden during the Clinton administration as deputy staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Biden was a senator, told Fox News Digital the president shouldn’t accept the nomination for the Democratic ticket after Biden’s debate performance.  “I have tremendous respect for Joe Biden. He’s my former boss. I think he’s a great person and a great American patriot. But I think most people seeing him in the debate last night would have to come to the conclusion that he may not have 4½ healthy years left where he can perform at the highest level that’s required for a United States president,” said Metzl, author of the book “Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World.”  “And so, it’s with a very heavy heart and deep sadness that I’ve come to the conclusion that the best step for the Democratic Party and for the country is for President Biden to announce that he will not seek the Democratic Party’s nomination to be the presidential candidate,” Metzl said.  DNC INSIDER CLAIMS BIDEN MEETING WITH OBAMA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST FOLLOWING DEBATE DISASTER Metzl said he believes Biden did an “excellent” job in his first term, adding that before he took office, “we had significant attacks on our democracy and literally an attack on our Capitol. Our alliances were in shambles. So, I think that President Biden has done actually a quite good job. Certainly not perfect. And there’s lots of things that I and we can and should criticize.” He added that calling on Biden to drop out is not “a statement about his performance in his first term as president. It’s a statement about what is required to be the president of the United States for four years. And, unfortunately, Joe Biden, who I greatly respect, I don’t believe has that capacity anymore.”  Metzl explained that he worked with Biden nearly 25 years ago, and that he notices a “marked difference” between Biden then and now.  “And that’s perfectly normal. We all have parents and grandparents, and we see that age is a very real thing even for a vigorous person like President Biden,” Metzl said. “When you get to be in your 80s, just the ravages of time catch up to us all. So, I have great respect for him, but I just think that we in the Democratic Party need to be brutally honest with ourselves. Because, if we’re not, the voters in November will certainly be brutally honest with us.” Metzl said while the Democratic Party has a provision for an open convention, “I think it would be a mistake to begin this process then, because a person who is going to be the nominee needs to have legitimacy. Not just from being selected at the convention, but through some type of popular engagement and popular process. So, I think that President Biden should announce that he will not seek the nomination at some point over the next couple of days, and that anyone who wants to step forward should do so.” He suggested that, over the next month, the candidates could have weekly debates about the leading candidates along with “old-fashioned retail politics at scale, where these candidates are going to have to, in a very condensed period of time, communicate who they are and what they stand for and engage with voters. This is not something that is comfortable. It would have been much better if we had had a regular primary, perhaps, beginning a year ago. But this is where we are now, and I think we need to make the most of it.”  Biden didn’t have any serious primary challengers and quickly became the presumptive Democratic nominee. His team also insisted Friday he wouldn’t consider leaving the race.  “I don’t know what’s realistic and what’s not,” Metzl said when asked whether Biden would consider dropping out. “I certainly know that if President Biden and his team this morning had said, ‘We’re thinking about what’s the next step,’ it would have been game over from that point. So, they almost have to say, ‘We’re in it to win it’ now.” “And the question will be what happens over the next couple of days? Perhaps there’ll be additional polls that will give information. Perhaps, very likely, there are private conversations. But I do think that, after the performance last night, it will just be impossible for President Biden to rebrand himself to the American people.”  OBAMA DEFENDS BIDEN, HAMMERS TRUMP AFTER TELEVISED SHOWDOWN: ‘BAD DEBATE NIGHTS HAPPEN’ Metzl said there are a number of Democratic candidates who could take Biden’s place, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. “I certainly think that there are some strong candidates,” he said. “But the problem is that, in our system, it takes a long primary year in many cases for people to get to know a candidate. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama were relative unknowns when they announced that they were running for the presidency.  “And it took all of the give and take of the primaries for the electorate to get to know them. So, it’s going to be an extremely tall order for people who, whether they’re governors or senators or others who aren’t that well known to the general public, to become so well known over the next month or so that they would have some tailwinds coming into the Democratic convention in August.”  While admitting it would be difficult for a replacement candidate to be able to beat Trump, Metzl said, “I do think it’s possible. I do not think that Donald Trump is a strong candidate at all, and I don’t think the American people were well served by the choice. CAN BIDEN BE REPLACED AS THE DEM NOMINEE? HOW THE EXTRAORDINARY MOVE COULD OCCUR “President Biden is clearly looking his age, and it was clear from the debate last night that President Trump is unrepentant, and