\
Last month, a bill was signed into law that completely reforms California's bail system.
SB10 eliminates cash bail and replaces it with a risk-assessment system.
State Sen. Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, said he introduced the bill because he believes cash bail is an unfair system based on wealth.
“A few years ago I discovered that 63 percent of all the people in California jails are pre-trial detainees—people not convicted of any crime but simply awaiting trial,” Hertzberg said. “The average bail in California is $50,000. If you can post it, you get out. If you can’t, you sit and rot in jail for what can be months.”
The new law would put the state's bail-bond companies out of business.
“They want to make bail bonds look bad. People think we just want money,” said Robert Morris, an employee at Valencia Bail Bonds in Chico, ”but the reason your bail could be high is you’ve been arrested 10 times or you’re on your third DUI.”
In the old bail system, a judge would determine the amount of bail by weighing factors like the risk of the defendant fleeing and the type of crime alleged. If the accused wasn’t able to pay the bail himself or through family and friends, a bail bond company could pay that bail for a fee.
When considering bail reform, Hertzberg said he consulted people in a variety of industries to come up with a better decision.
“This bill was the result of nearly two years of conversations with all stakeholders, from law enforcement to civil rights groups, the courts, and the bail industry,” Hertzberg said. “The bail bond industry takes advantage of and exploits people who do not have the money for bail.”
While people on both sides believe the justice system is flawed, some people in the bail bond industry think people are ignorant of how the bail system works and that ignorance is why this bill is flawed.
“There are problems within the justice system,” Morris said, “but all the California government sees is money. Taxpayers are going to have to end up paying for criminals who get released from jail and don’t show up to court.”
Bail-bond companies that oppose the law are collecting signatures to put a repeal measure on the November 2020 ballot.
For more information on SB 10, the full text of the bill is available online.
-- by Justin Jackson