Bill to end cash bail passes California Assembly amid heavy opposition

San Francisco Chronicle - Melody Gutierrez Aug.
20, 2018 Updated: Aug. 20, 2018 8:22 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — The Assembly passed a long-sought
bill to end money bail on Monday, the same day
that criminal justice reform groups that had been
allies in pushing for the legislation pulled their support.

The bill, SB10, by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg,
D-Van Nuys, would overhaul a system in which
defendants are released depending on whether they
have the money to post bail, which supporters say
too often leaves low-income people in jail
awaiting trial. SB10 garnered bare minimum
support to pass the Assembly in a 41-27 vote and
now moves back to the state Senate, which has two
weeks to decide whether to send it to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.

"This current broken system has created such
unfairness, such injustice," said Assemblyman Rob
Bonta, D-Alameda. "It has also failed to keep us
safer, because it's not based on safety. It's not
based on one's risk. It's based on wealth, an arbitrary and irrelevant factor."

The American Civil Liberties Union of California
and other groups that were supporters of the bill
changed positions on Monday, saying amendments
last week give courts too much power in deciding
who should be released and will further
exacerbate "racial biases and disparities that permeate our justice system."

"As much as we condemn the commercial for-profit
system of bail, we cannot stand and let SB10
become the law of California," said Abdi Soltani,
executive director of ACLU Northern California.

Lawmakers said Monday that the prospect of ending
the cash bail system outweighed those concerns.

"This may not be the perfect bill," said
Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, who
voted in favor of SB10. "It may not go as far as
people may want from the so-called left or the
so-called right, but we have to do something. ...
The system desperately needs to be reformed."

Under the legislation, California would no longer
require people accused of crimes to post bail to
go free while awaiting trial. Revisions to SB10
that were made on Thursday would, however, tell
local courts to create their own evaluation
system for deciding who can be safely released
while awaiting trial or sentencing. While ankle
monitors or other conditions could be required
for a person's release, those conditions would have to be nonmonetary.

People accused of nonviolent misdemeanors would
be released within 12 hours after being booked.
But there would be exceptions: People with recent
serious or violent felony convictions, multiple
failures to appear or allegations involving
domestic violence would not qualify. For all
other cases, local courts would decide how to
assess who is at low, moderate or high risk of
re-offending or fleeing when determining whether
someone should be released after an arrest.

The California Bail Agents Association has
aggressively fought the bill — which would
effectively eliminate the bail industry in the
state — saying that it will lead to fewer people
showing up to court. Many Republicans opposed the
measure on Monday, along with three Democratic Assembly members.

"Getting rid of our current bail system will only
make California less safe," said Assemblyman
Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach (Orange County).
"By eliminating bail, criminals will stop showing
up for trial. By stripping bail bondsmen of their
power to bring criminals to justice, more criminals will roam free."

Lawmakers who voted for the bill said it creates
a system focused on a person's risk to the
community, instead of their ability to pay bail.

"Thousands of sex offenders, rapists, murderers
are let out because they simply have money,
somehow we are safer by keeping that system?"
asked Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego.

Several groups that once stood behind SB10 say
the bill will simply result in more people
accused of crimes being detained, regardless of
whether they can pay to get out. The California
Public Defenders Association and San Francisco
Public Defender Jeff Adachi's office are among
the groups that removed their support of the bill.

Full story at:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/California-legislation-to-end-cash-bail-loses-13169991.php#photo-16042244