From the Chron, a story that combines civil rights and civil liberties (procedural rights):
More than 15,000 people were collared in Harris County for misdemeanors in the final months of 2010, but 70 percent of white inmates were released on bond before trial, compared to 50 percent or less of Hispanics and African-Americans, a new report critical of detention practices shows.
White criminal defendants also generally had to pay lower bonds for their freedom, according to a report released by the Houston Ministers Against Crime. The group of politically connected pastors claims aggressively locking up those who have been accused - but not yet convicted - for crimes like fighting and trespassing costs taxpayers big bucks and harms poor communities "struggling under the ongoing financial crisis."
I can't find a website for Houston Ministers Against Crime, but they're a local interest group actively involved in policing issues. Here's a 2006 story about their support for a public defender's office.
