Bail Reform | American Civil Liberties Union

Question 1

How does cash bail undermine the presumption of innocence?

Accepted Answer

Cash bail schemes undermine the presumption of innocence in two ways. First, the majority (80%) of people in jail have not been convicted of a crime and are presumed innocent. Excessive cash bail practices trap these hundreds of thousands of people behind bars for weeks, months, and sometimes years just waiting for their day in court. That means an innocent person could spend months in jail to have a chance to have their innocence proven and return home.

Excessive cash bail presents people with an impossible choice: remain in jail while the case progresses, which could be months or years, or plead guilty to a crime just so that they can go home. For most people, even a few days in jail can have catastrophic consequences. It may be the difference between life as normal and losing their kids, job, housing, and support network, or being unable to care for kids, older parents, or other people at home that rely on them as caregivers. The result is a system that incentivizes guilty pleas even in the cases of people who are innocent.

Question 2

If not cash bail, how else can we make sure people return to court?

Accepted Answer

Providing transportation, reminder phone calls, housing, substance abuse recovery programs, or issuing unsecured bonds, are but some of the ways to promise to return to court that is not tied to money. These supportive approaches are proven to help people return to court at the same rate or an even higher rate than cash bail.

Eliminating discriminatory cash bail laws allows judges to rely on evidence, an individual’s circumstances, and an assessment of public safety to determine the need for pre-trial detention and limit it to circumstances when it is actually needed.

Question 3

Who is most impacted by excessive cash bail practices?

Accepted Answer

Studies consistently find that Black defendants receive significantly harsher bail outcomes than those imposed on white defendants charged with similar crimes. Black defendants also face systemic wealth inequities that make it harder for them to post bail. . As a result, people of color are overrepresented in jails across the country. This creates a vicious cycle: poverty leads to prolonged jail time, and time in jail makes it harder to escape poverty.

Question 4

What’s the role of private cash bail companies?

Accepted Answer

When courts set cash bail, people who cannot afford to pay the full amount are often forced to rely on for-profit bail companies to purchase their release. The individual pays a portion of the money upfront (in a nonrefundable payment) and agrees to a payment plan for the rest, which can include unreasonably high interest rates.

These for-profit companies lobby against bail reform – not because they care about the safety of our communities – but because they care about their own bottom lines. The for-profit industry makes about $2 billion every year from this exploitative system.

While for-profit bail companies are lining their pockets, American taxpayers are footing the bill for the bloated jail populations that result from this system. American taxpayers pay over $14 billion a year incarcerating people who have not yet been convicted of anything.

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