Pretrial Release News in California & Beyond
California Newswire:
CA Gov. Newsom signs $100B California Comeback Plan SB 129 to accelerate state’s recovery and address ongoing challenges
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 129, legislation that reflects the majority of the 2021-22 state budget agreement. This transformative budget includes the biggest economic recovery package in California’s history – a $100 billion California Comeback Plan. Read more »
Courthouse News Service:
Governor Newsom Inks State Budget Framework
Governor Gavin Newsom and state Democrats are putting the finishing touches on a $262 billion budget, weeks into the new fiscal year. The state will send out $600 stimulus checks, boost education funding and expand health care to more undocumented residents. Read more »
Judicial Council of California:
Allocations and Reimbursements to Trial Courts: Pretrial Release Funding and Allocation Methodology
The Judicial Branch Budget Committee recommends approval of the Trial Court Budget
Advisory Committee recommendation that the Judicial Council for allocate 2021–22 Pretrial Release funding of $140 million General Fund for the trial courts in accordance with methodologies outlined in Senate Bill 129 and including minimum funding floors. Read more »
Public Policy Institute of California:
Pretrial Release in California
To further reduce reliance on incarceration without compromising public safety, state policymakers are currently considering reforming California’s pretrial system. Key questions for reform include whether the state holds too many defendants in jail pending trial and whether bail is an equitable form of pretrial release. Read more »
NJ.com:
Has bail reform been a success? Check the crime numbers, then decide
Despite strong opposition and scare tactics from the bail bond industry, New Jersey implemented bail reform. Initial results are showing dramatic crime reductions statewide, and judges still retain discretion beyond the formula for determining release conditions. Read more »
SNHU:
Former Prosecutor, Criminal Justice Experts Weigh In on Bail Reform
Dozens of students, community members and criminal justice experts gathered recently to discuss the state of bail reform in the United States during the second installment of Southern New Hampshire University’s Contemporary Justice Series. Read more »
WHYY.org:
Malcolm Jenkins backs changes to Philly’s cash-bail system he says ‘punishes poverty’
Less than a week after donating bail money for nine people – and a day after helping the Philadelphia Eagles secure a season-saving win – Malcolm Jenkins grabbed a seat inside a Kensington nonprofit to deliver a simple message: The city’s cash-bail system has to go. And he is working with the Philadelphia DA to influence change. Read more »
WNYC.org:
Bail reform advocates vindicated as NJ crime rates plummet
Crime in New Jersey has plummeted over the past two years. Violent offenses like homicide and robbery are down more than 30 percent through September, compared to state data from 2016, and the numbers have advocates of bail reform cheering. Read more »
StarNews Online:
OPINION: Time to reform state’s unjust bail system
The authors, Lori Messinger of the ACLU of North Carolina and Roberta Penn, chair of the New Hanover County NAACP Criminal Justice Committee, outline their thoughts on the growing movement for bail reform. Read more »
VOX.com:
Bail reform, which could save millions of unconvicted people from jail, explained
California has passed legislation that will eliminate cash bail as a condition of release. Other state and local jurisdictions, including ones in New Jersey, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Alaska and Illinois, have passed similar measures in an effort to mitigate inequality within the justice system. Read more »
The Sacramento Bee:
Investing in community stability is next step for California criminal justice reform
California legislators passed an unprecedented number of justice reform measures in 2018, but the state continues to spend more on prisons than other budget items more likely to reduce crime. Read more »
LAW 360:
Using the Constitution to End Punishment of the Poor
Lawyers across the country are filing civil rights cases on the basis of the fourteenth amendment to challenge fines, fees and costs imposed on people who cannot, or should not be expected to, pay them. Read more »
Tulsa World:
Smartphone app aims to help poor Tulsa County defendants avoid jail
A smartphone app will send court-dates reminders to low-income defendants in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, helping them avoid jail time for a failure to appear. Read more »
NJ Law Journal:
U.S. Supreme Court declines appeal to New Jersey’s bail reform
The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear an appeal to the constitutionality of New Jersey’s bail reform law. The appeal questions whether New Jersey’s law violates due process as well as the fourth amendment. Read more »
CALmatters:
Senate Bill 10 would eliminate cash bail in California; bail bond industry fights back
Bail bond giants are hoping to challenge California’s Senate Bill 10 with a referendum. The bill would eliminate cash bail and replace it with “risk assessments” and nonmonetary conditions of release. Read more »
Corrections1.com:
Report: Bail reform is part of Alaska’s reform measures reducing prison count
Fewer Alaskan prisoners are serving time for low-level offenses thanks to criminal justice reforms passed in 2016. Read more »
OC Register:
Time to come together to implement bail reform
California has shown the nation it is ready to embrace new ideas to better serve its people. We should take the next step in demonstrating national leadership by ensuring our implementation process of this law sets new standards of collaboration, transparency, and accountability to communities who have long been negatively impacted. Read more »