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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: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday September 04 2018, @08:06AM (4 children)
I think that those who spend multiple years in jail while awaiting trial have previous records that preclude bail, or extremely high bails. Note that I said "I think". It seems that on our local level, things generally move along pretty quickly. People with clean records get released on personal recognizance, or a low bail. People with some record get a higher bail. People with a long record get high bails. And, the seriousness of the crime has a strong influence on top of previous records. And, of course, the odd person out gets screwed over because he pissed off the wrong people.
Things may not work the same everywhere, so I'm not trying to make a case for New York, or Washington, or anyplace far from Texarkana. Around here, if you spend more than a year in jail, you're almost certainly a hardened criminal, charged with a major crime - but even those cases are usually finished within a year.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Tuesday September 04 2018, @02:54PM (3 children)
https://www.redstate.com/sarahquinlan/2018/04/10/due-process-denied.-1300-louisiana-held-four-years-awaiting-trial [redstate.com]
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/us/alabama-kharon-davis-speedy.html [nytimes.com]
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday September 04 2018, @09:59PM (2 children)
Good enough. From your second link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Louisiana
Moral of the story is - don't go to either Mexico or Louisiana, and get in trouble. You're not going to be treated the same way you would be treated in any of the other states, commonwealths, possessions, or territories.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday September 04 2018, @10:04PM (1 child)
Uhhhhhhh - that's a first. I scanned back over my submission, then hit "submit". What appeared is only half of what I typed out. Let me try this again.
And, it doesn't work! I hit preview submission, and half of my post is still missing. Let me pick it up at the point that text dissappears, and preview that:
Reading that page, it looks like an old time good ole boy's club - investigating cop cross examined by his own daddy? Crap. Dambamalama - I don't know what to say about that state.
First link takes a little bit of - what should I call it? Understanding? Louisiana is unique among the United States. Their legal system is not based on old English common law. It is based on Napoleanic law, like Mexico. You will recall, I presume, that we bought that swamp from Napoleon when he was strapped for funds. Prior to Napoleon's possession of Louisiana, it was claimed by the Spanish.
The rights that every other state recognizes, are twisted and skewed in Louisiana. You have rights, but they're not really recognizable as the same rights that every other state recognizes.
Habeus corpus? Well, sure, if you demand to see the body, we can arrange that. But, the judge didn't go to the same legal schools as some Yankee, nor has he had the same experience in his career as a western judge. "Yep, we got the body, right here, and it's going to stay right here, until we say different!"
Of course, federal law trumps Louisiana law, just as it does any other state. But, we've not seen the feds going into Louisiana to straighten things out, either.
The wikipedia has the beginnings of a real article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Louisiana [wikipedia.org]
Moral of the story is - don't go to either Mexico or Louisiana, and get in trouble. You're not going to be treated the same way you would be treated in any of the other states, commonwealths, possessions, or territories.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday September 04 2018, @10:17PM
I figured it out. I failed to properly close the quote tag. The system handled that problem oddly, it seems. Lost everything between the improperly closed tag, and the end of the URL. Hmmmm . . .