The justices turned away an appeal by Bradley Hester of a lower court's ruling that upheld Cullman County, Alabama's cash bail system. Hester was required to remain in jail following a misdemeanor arrest because he could not afford to make a $1,000 bail payment. Hester joined a lawsuit against Cullman County Sheriff Matthew Gentry and other officials in 2017 following his arrest and detention for possessing drug paraphernalia. A federal judge in Alabama in 2018 temporarily blocked Cullman County's bail practices, ruling that Hester was likely to prevail on his claim that the county's "discriminatory bail practices deprive indigent criminal defendants in Cullman County of equal protection of the law." Circuit Court of Appeals panel in 2022 reversed that ruling, prompting Hester's appeal to the Supreme Court.

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Persons: Bradley Hester, Hester, Matthew Gentry, Cullman, John Kruzel, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, Supreme, . Constitution, Circuit, Thomson Locations: ., Cullman County, Alabama