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What’s New

The Bail Project / Newsroom  / What’s New (Page 34)

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Reform, What's New
April 14, 2019

The ACLU of Michigan has sued the 36th District Court in Detroit for “violating the constitutional rights of people who are presumed innocent but are confined to jail because they cannot afford to pay bail.” The lawsuit is on behalf of seven Black defendants, an unfortunately accurate representation of the racially disparate impacts of cash bail in Detroit. In addition to challenging the basic practice of money bail, the lawsuit also notes that the “vast majority of bail arraignments are done via video teleconference” and defendants routinely appear in bail hearings without counsel (of the observed cases, 95 percent of people did not have an attorney). You can find the full case here. (Internal only note: TBP Detroit and Detroit Justice Center provided expertise on how the Detroit bail system works and the ACLU observed standard bailout operations to help put together this lawsuit!) 

Summarized by Lillian Kalish

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What's New
April 12, 2019

As conversations around re-enfranchising formerly incarcerated people grow, a look at the disenfranchisement of people detained pretrial and people serving jail or prison sentences. A proposed bill in Illinois would require counties to provide mail-in or on-site voting opportunities for people in jail pretrial: “It’s about making sure that the rights we have are real.”

Summarized by Lillian Kalish

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E-Carceration, Pretrial Algorithms, What's New
April 10, 2019

The New York Times reported that a glitch that prevented East Baton Rouge Parish’s jury database from updating properly left over 150,000 people off the jury rolls: “Across the country, computer-reliant jury coordinators have for years confronted database problems that kept otherwise-eligible potential jurors from being called to the nation’s courthouses…Such systemic exclusions raise constitutional concerns and threaten the integrity of the jury system, legal experts said.” The Times provides a look into the legal, constitutional, and ethical questions that arise when algorithms or other technical systems malfunction, leading to real-life consequences for people (as always, experienced along the lines of race, class, gender, and more).

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Reform, What's New
April 4, 2019

This article in The Appeal looks at how the cash bail system and bail bond industry preys on women not only as defendants, but also as the demographic most likely to be paying someone’s bail: “[A] vast population of women, largely invisible in public discussions of bail reform, is brought into the system through the co-signing process. Handing over hundreds or thousands of dollars, these women may drain their savings or go into debt.” And our partner, The Audacious Project, covered how women are the “hidden victims” of the cash bail crisis.

Summarized by Lillian Kalish

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Reform, What's New
April 3, 2019

The Marshall Project covered how misleading the “violent/nonviolent” distinction is, and how prosecutors use the process of “up-charging” (i.e. charging people for more “serious” crimes, such as charging the act of getting into a bar fight as “assault with intent to kill”) to force guilty pleas. Resisting the “violent/nonviolent” distinction is particularly relevant to bail reform given that many proposed reforms, including those passed in New York last week, eliminate cash bail for people accused only of “nonviolent” crimes.

Summarized by Lillian Kalish

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Reform, What's New
April 2, 2019

Instead, the state relies on pretrial algorithms to determine detention decisions. Their conclusion is that the reforms are working: the state’s jail population dropped by 44 percent; failure-to-appear, recidivism, and “violent” crime did not significantly increase. However, racial disparities have not decreased significantly. While lawmakers are touting the program as a success, it is still facing an “impending funding crisis.“ You can find the full report here.

Summarized by Jacob Koffler

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Jails, What's New
April 2, 2019

At least 70 percent of these people were awaiting trial. These jail deaths are preventable, too, as the leading cause of death is suicide. A patchwork of reporting systems has left jail deaths underreported and jail administrators unaccountable. Additionally, it’s getting worse: over the past 10 years, jail deaths have consistently increased in Oregon and Washington. 

Summarized by Jacob Koffler

About Us

The Bail Project combats mass incarceration by disrupting the money bail system—one person at a time. We restore the presumption of innocence, reunite families, and challenge a system that criminalizes race and poverty. We’re on a mission to end cash bail and create a more just, equitable, and humane pretrial system. Because bail is returned at the end of a case, donations to The Bail Project National Revolving Bail Fund can be recycled and reused to pay bail two to three times per year, maximizing the impact of every dollar. 100% of online donations are used to bring people home.

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