Opposition to the cash bail system in California has existed for as long as anyone can remember. In nearly all circumstances under the current system in California, bail is set when the criminally accused are first booked into jail. They are then brought before a judge within 3 court days of the arrest, assuming bail has not been previously posted. Among other issues addressed at the first court appearance (“the arraignment”), the judge considers the continuing bail status of the defendant. Sometimes bail goes up at the arraignment, sometimes it gets decreased, while often times it remains the same.
Bail can be posted 3 ways: (1) Putting up property where there is equity in an amount at least 2 times the bail amount; (2) Producing the entire bail amount (i.e. via Cashier’s Check); or (3) Using a Bail Bond Company, whereby the bail company posts the bond in exchange for receiving a non-refundable 7-10 % of the actual bail amount. Proponents for bail reform argue that your freedom while a criminal court case makes its way through the system is directly tied to your financial status, ignores the presumption of innocence, and therefore unfairly discriminates against poor people.
SB 10, which was passed by the California legislature and was set to go into effect last year, has been put on hold pending a voter referendum which will take place in November 2020. The new measure, if passed, will abolish cash bail (and bail bonds) and implement a risk-based system that assumes a person will be released from custody on his or her own recognizance (with or without conditions), unless there is strong evidence that the person poses a danger to the community. It will also make California at least the 4th state in the country to abolish the cash bail system.
Not surprisingly, the measure is opposed by the bail bond industry. But others, including some community groups, and even some criminal defense attorneys, also oppose the measure as currently worded, claiming that it gives local judges sweeping authority to keep people incarcerated until trial, or at least through their arraignment without the ability to bail out at all in some instances (i.e. domestic violence charges and/or multiple DUIs). Stay tuned for more articles and comments on this monumental decision the voters will have in November!
