SUPERVISION FEES AT QUESTION - A racketeering lawsuit alleges that a Baton Rouge pretrial supervision company essentially holds inmates for ransom even after they've paid their bond, by requiring a $525 fee to get out of jail. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the Southern Poverty Law Center say the company gets referrals from a state district judge with whom it has political ties. The lawsuit, filed late Monday by the ACLU of Louisiana and the Southern Poverty Law Center, accuses the company, Rehabilitation Home Incarceration, of violating state and federal racketeering laws by "extorting" an initial $525 payment and hundreds of dollars in subsequent fees from defendants assigned to pretrial supervision. The lawsuit contends that 19th Judicial District Judge Trudy White ordered more than 300 defendants to RHI supervision in 2015 and 2016. Louisiana ACLU director Marjorie Esman explained to public radio WRKF that RHI supported Judge White's political campaign. White was not named a defendant in the lawsuit.
