A New Orleans judge accused of forcing defendants to pay to get out of jail before trial without considering their financial situation was sued Tuesday by civil rights groups challenging unconstitutional wealth-based bail practices across the country.

The lawsuit against Orleans Parish Criminal District Judge Harry Cantrell alleges that he refuses to consider non-financial conditions of release, instead requiring many poor defendants charged with low-level crimes to pay unnecessarily high bail amounts. Under this scheme, Cantrell imposes de facto orders of pretrial detention for those unable to pay, which can lead to defendants being jailed for weeks or months before trial, the suit claims. The complaint alleges that Cantrell has a financial incentive to set high bonds, because a portion goes into the courts general fund.

The suit, brought by attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center and Civil Rights Corps, was filed on behalf of two plaintiffs now jailed in Orleans Parish on misdemeanor drug charges. The court has not determined that either poses a substantial flight risk or a danger to the community. They remain behind bars only because they cant afford to pay the bail Cantrell has set, according to the complaint.

Cantrell routinely refuses to set bail below $2,500, regardless of the facts of a case or a defendants ability to pay, the suit claims. In most cases, the judge forces defendants to seek the services of a commercial bail bondsman, which in Orleans Parish charge a non-refundable 12-percent or 13-percent fee on the total bond amount.

We dont go any lower than $2,500 in this court, Cantrell told one defendants attorney. This court never goes any lower than $2,500, he said in another case. I dont got any lower than $2,500 on my bonds, he said in yet another. In one instance, he told a lawyer he was going to set bond at $2,500, regardless of what information the lawyer provided.