OP-ED: California's district attorneys must work to end money bail

By Jeff Adachi on April 11, 2018 1:00 am | SF Examiner

While the movement to reform California's unconstitutional money bail
system gains momentum, it met resistance earlier this month from a
familiar opponent.

In an extraordinary court filing, District Attorney George Gascon
asked the state Supreme Court to review a landmark court ruling that
would end the unjust practice of jailing people solely because they
cannot afford bail. The case involved 64-year-old Kenneth Humphrey,
who was jailed after allegedly stealing a bottle of cologne. The
court set bail at $600,000 (reduced to $350,000), and Humphrey,
unable to pay, has remained in jail nearly 300 days.

An appellate court recently struck down the exorbitant bail and
ordered a new bail hearing for Humphrey. It also explained that due
process requires judges to consider non-monetary options for release
and to assess a defendant's ability to pay before setting a bail
amount, vital protections to ensure equity and fairness that Humphrey
never received.

Gascon does not dispute that Humphrey's constitutional rights were
violated, and he agrees that California courts discriminate against
poor people by sending them to jail when wealthier defendants, based
only on their access to money, would walk free. Yet, he has
challenged the ruling to resolve a legal question the lower court
never even decided.

Full article at:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/californias-district-attorneys-must-work-end-money-bail/