Challenging the Money Bail System in Tulsa County
Feltz v. Regalado et al.
(formerly Feltz v. Board of County Commissioners of Tulsa County et al. and Parga v. Tulsa County et al.)
On June 6, 2018, Civil Rights Corps filed a lawsuit challenging Tulsa County’s unconstitutional wealth-based pretrial detention system. Tulsa County used a secured money bail schedule to determine conditions of release for almost every person arrested in the county. The process was as straightforward as it was unjust: upon arrest, a person was given a money bail amount that corresponds to the charges they are booked on; if they could pay the amount, they were released. If they couldn’t pay the amount, they were jailed. There was no inquiry into or consideration of the person’s ability to pay the money-bail amount. So, if they couldn’t pay, they were jailed for at least a week, before they were able to see a judge.
The results were devastating. Previously, on an average day, more than 62% of people incarcerated in the Tulsa County Jail — over 1,500 people — were awaiting trial. They had not been convicted of a crime and therefore were presumptively innocent. Additionally, Tulsa County’s pretrial detention rate was 83% higher than the national average.
In 2024, we won an important ruling in federal court, and the Court and the parties are now negotiating a remedy to fix the constitutional violations.
We are litigating this case alongside Still She Rises, a Tulsa-based holistic defense project that represents mothers.
Partners:
Filings:
Second Amended Complaint (March 3, 2021)
Complaint (June 6, 2018)
More from the Bail
In re Kowalczyk. In May 2026, the California Supreme Court issued one of the most liberatory decisions in U.S. history, unanimously holding that jailing a person pretrial simply because they can’t pay money bail is unconstitutional. The California Supreme Court also held that the vast majority of people accused of crimes must be released prior to trial under the California Constitution and reaffirmed rigorous procedural protections that the government must follow if it seeks to detain a presumed innocent person.
Since the landmark Humphrey ruling, our California habeas project has expanded: providing training and partnering, so far, with 17 county public defender and appointed defender offices spanning all 6 of California’s intermediate appellate districts and the California Supreme Court.
Sandoval v. Riverside. In May 2025, individuals detained in Riverside County jails filed a class action lawsuit challenging Riverside County’s cash-based jailing of individuals between their arrest and first court hearing, as well as Riverside County’s unnecessary delay of that hearing. Rabbi David Lazar and Reverend Jane Quandt chose to join this lawsuit because they view cash-based jailing as unconscionable. The lawsuit was filed against Riverside County Superior Court, Riverside County, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff Chad Bianco.
In partnership with public defenders in Oregon, Civil Rights Corps is challenging Oregon’s longstanding practices of jailing people charged with misdemeanors prior to trial and jailing people charged with other crimes without constitutionally required due process.
Butler v. Prince George's County. In 2022, CRC and partners filed a class action lawsuit challenging Prince George’s County's pretrial detention practices. The lawsuit seeks a declaration that PG County and its officials violate Plaintiffs’ rights under the United States and Maryland Constitutions by detaining people pretrial without meeting the substantive and procedural standards required for pretrial detention.
Urquidi v. City of Los Angeles. CRC and co-counsel brought suit in California Superior Court in November 2022 on behalf of several individuals who had been jailed for five days simply because they could not access enough cash to pay for their freedom.
Fant v. City of Ferguson. In 2015, we filed a landmark challenge to the City of Ferguson’s conversion of its legal system into a mechanism for generating revenue. The lawsuit sought justice for thousands of people who alleged that Ferguson routinely violated their constitutional rights by jailing them in deplorable conditions and without the necessary legal process because they could not pay money to the City.
Hester v. Gentry. In 2018, Civil Rights Corps and partners filed a lawsuit alleging that hundreds of people in Cullman County, Alabama, are routinely jailed before trial due to their inability to pay bail in exchange for their release.
Briggs v. Montgomery. In 2018, we filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Treatment Assessment Screening Center, Inc. for operating a diversion program that charges hundreds of dollars in fees to people accused of possessing small amounts of marijuana. In 2024, the Court approved a landmark $2.6 million settlement.