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from the Rich-and-poor-treated-the-same dept.
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed Senate Bill 10, the California Money Bail Reform Act, eliminating cash bail in the state:
An overhaul of the state's bail system has been in the works for years, and became an inevitability earlier this year when a California appellate court declared the state's cash bail system unconstitutional. The new law goes into effect in October 2019. "Today, California reforms its bail system so that rich and poor alike are treated fairly," Brown said in a statement, moments after signing the California Money Bail Reform Act.
The governor has waited nearly four decades to revamp the state's cash bail system. In his 1979 State of the State Address, Brown argued the existing process was biased, favoring the wealthy who can afford to pay for their freedom, and penalizing the poor, who often are forced to remain in custody.
[...] Under the California law those arrested and charged with a crime won't be putting up money or borrowing it from a bail bond agent to obtain their release. Instead, local courts will decide who to keep in custody and whom to release while they await trial. Those decisions will be based on an algorithm created by the courts in each jurisdiction.
Bail agents disapprove.
See also: California's 'cautionary tale' for others considering no cash bail system
California's bail bond empire strikes back
(Score: 5, Informative) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday September 04 2018, @02:01AM (3 children)
While there are good reasons to get rid of the abuses of the bail system, there's no guarantee that this new system will end much of the type of abuse you mention. Notably, the ACLU (which helped in initial drafts of this bill) has come out against it [reason.com] because they fear the amount of leeway for courts in setting policy for release could now just result in poor people (as well as others) just staying in jail... With no option to pay to get out until trial. Which (if it happens) means they will likely lose their jobs and experience many of the things you mention anyway... Or take a deal to get out and suffer the consequences as you mention.
(Score: 1) by bussdriver on Tuesday September 04 2018, @06:21AM (2 children)
If judges abuse poor people it'll be more obvious than the current shifting of blame to the distraction of the broken bail system. It's now obviously and undeniably the judge's fault or whomever designed the policy. Also, ankle bracelet tech is getting better and cheaper.
I'd like to see some data on the people who skip and actually lose their money... That is the group you study and devise clever methods to identify and manage them.
This isn't about POOR PEOPLE - there are middle class people who can be screwed over by bail or turned into poor people by the process despite being innocent.
This is a HUGE victory. period. You can't address all side issues before you can make progress; that is often used as a tactic to kill any progress. It is always some kind of whack-a-mole problem!
(Score: 4, Informative) by fyngyrz on Tuesday September 04 2018, @03:18PM (1 child)
Judges - the (in)justice system in general, really - already abuse poor people. It's obvious as hell. It's been a staple of the US (in)justice system for as long as I can remember, and probably before then. Very little is done about any of it.
These abuses come in many forms:
And then there's the icing on the cake: Society's embrace of retribution rather than rehabilitation.
(Score: 1) by bussdriver on Tuesday September 04 2018, @05:52PM
I wrote "MORE obvious. The judges reflect the culture in which they live, as they should. Good luck making Americans wake up or turn into decent human beings; the majority of them are closer to Trump than human.