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posted by martyb on Monday September 03 2018, @09:52PM   Printer-friendly
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


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 04 2018, @03:05PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 04 2018, @03:05PM (#730271)

    Pissing in the floor or screaming about the unfairness of it all would be disorderly conduct. Remarks to a policeman about planes falling from the sky if he cannot finish his work can be construed as terroristic threats.

    The fact that they can be construed as terroristic threats by a government thug do not mean it is right to interpret it that way. How likely was it that some random guy at a McDonalds was actually making a credible terrorist threat? Well, since terrorists are nearly nonexistent in the US anyway, and since it clearly sounded like a joke, almost none.

    If you don't agree, try it out yourself and see if your results vary. If you are too smart to attempt a similar stunt, I rest my case.

    The government will likely violate your rights if you say X. So... what? What's your point? That doesn't mean that violating your rights is okay, or that it is in any way reasonable; it only means that it will probably happen.

    You are an authoritarian.

  • (Score: 2) by Oakenshield on Tuesday September 04 2018, @05:33PM

    by Oakenshield (4900) on Tuesday September 04 2018, @05:33PM (#730355)

    The government will likely violate your rights if you say X. So... what? What's your point? That doesn't mean that violating your rights is okay, or that it is in any way reasonable; it only means that it will probably happen.

    My point is that most people would realize that this type of thing could or would happen. I don't like it any more than you do, but it is a fact of the world we live in. At some point that may change, but today everyone with any sense at all recognizes that it is likely to happen. The further point is don't be a dumbass and give the police something to cause you trouble. OP was in the wrong when he refused to leave the premises. Red flags were waving when he spent the night playing on WiFi and refused to leave when asked. The airplane comment could then be construed as a threat from the circumstances. I know YOU don't like the call, but cops err on the side of caution these days of mass shootings, people running over others with vehicles and of course 9/11.

    You are an authoritarian.

    Hardly. I support the bill of rights in their entirety. I support free speech. I support liberty. Let me ask you something. Do you support the new laws that authorize the government to confiscate legally owned firearms based upon heresay? California passed a new law allowing teachers, principals, co-workers and employers to also ask for a gun restraining order for people they fear are a threat to themselves or others. How authoritarian are your politics or is that somehow different?