SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – California ushered in a new era for criminal justice in August when Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that eliminates money bail as a way of keeping pretrial defendants being bars. On Friday, the Judicial Council met to hash out how the courts will actually put it into practice.
Judicial Council staff director Martin Hoshino said the bill’s name, the California Bail Reform Act, is a bit of a misnomer.
“In one significant respect this version is really not bail reform per se. By eliminating money completely, it is a justice reform that corrects the social, economic and financial inequalities in our state. It’s a plain and simple social change and correction that is long overdue,” he said.
He also addressed the law’s critics, who have argued both it goes too far and not enough.
“The bail industry claims that too many dangerous people will be released. Some reformers suggest that too many people will be detained,” Hoshino said. “The truth is the bail bill cannot do both, and it actually does neither. What it does is corrects known inequities by treating people equally in a safe and fair manner. No matter how much money you have, whether you are rich or poor, if you are arrested in the state of California for a crime you will be treated the same.”
The foundation for SB 10, two years in the making, was a lengthy report put out last year by the Pretrial Detention Work Group. The group, consisting of a head clerk and 11 judges from trial courts up and down the state, suggested courts begin to use assessment tools to determine whether a defendant is a flight risk or a threat to public safety.
Retired Judge Brian Back of Ventura was one group’s co-chairs, along with Judge Lisa Rodriguez of San Diego.
The new law takes money out of the equation for pretrial detainees. As soon as someone is arrested on a misdemeanor, he or she will be released on his or her own recognizance unless the crime falls under one of 10 exceptions, like domestic violence or stalking.
Those arrested for felonies will be immediately assessed for their risk to public safety and their likelihood of returning to court.
Retired Judge Richard Couzens of Placer County explained the law zeros in primarily on the first 48 to 72 hours after someone is arrested.
“The decision to detain or not detain will be based on assessment of risk, not money,” Couzens said. “Low-risk offenders won’t be retained in custody simply because they cannot afford bail, but high-risk offenders won’t get out of jail because they can post bail.”
Each county will have to adopt its own local rule for evaluating its medium-risk felony detainees to determine who can be released.
“A certain base will be provided by the statute, but the county has certain discretion to make adjustments to detain most people. This is necessary to meet local culture,” Couzens said, adding that the council will write a rule in the coming months that will help advise the courts.
Some crimes are not considered eligible for release at all pre-arraignment, and all charges will be subject to review at arraignment.