Los Angeles County courts announced Tuesday, July 18, that sweeping new protocols will go into effect Oct. 1 to significantly reduce the use of cash bail for those arrested or cited for nonviolent, nonserious, low-level offenses.
Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner said during a video news conference that the shift moves the Superior Court system away from a wealth-based prearraignment detention system that “rises and falls on one’s ability to pay money bail, regardless of risk to the community.”
“Rather, for those arrested for nonviolent, nonserious felonies and misdemeanors, our new protocol will determine release status, based on risk and on an individual’s circumstances,” Jessner said.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment regarding the impact of the new protocols on its operations.
The protocols, unanimously adopted by the court’s executive committee, are based on research showing that a prearraignment monetary bail system is inequitable and ineffective in protecting the public and ensuring nonviolent offenders return to court, Jessner said.
A newly released Judicial Council of California study shows that risk-based release decisions that are not reliant on money bail result in increased public safety, with a 5.8% decrease in rearrest/rebooking for misdemeanors and a 2.4% decrease for felonies. according to the courts.
Superior Court Judge Lawrence P. Riff issued a preliminary injunction in May prohibiting the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department from enforcing cash bail to hold in jail those charged with infractions and misdemeanors.
However, the remaining 45 independent law enforcement agencies within the county have been allowed to continue to hold inmates from the time of arrest through arraignment.
Under the traditional bail schedule model, crimes correspond with specific dollar amounts that individuals can post as bail to secure release…
Read the full article here