By Kevin L. Collins | Published September 1, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: cahs bail, excessive bail, reminder systems, unsecured bonds | Comments Off on Cash Bail Is Often Unjust to the Poor, But What Are the Alternatives?
On any given day, more than 450,000 people across the U.S. are sitting in jail awaiting trial because they cannot afford to pay their bail. Many of them, perhaps a great majority, are poor people who find themselves incarcerated while people with financial means – who are accused of the same or even more serious Read More
Read MoreU.S. prisons are the world’s most crowded, housing people in close contact with each other 24 hours a day. Combine that closeness with the already limited availability of health care in correctional facilities and it’s no surprise that jails and prisons have become hotbeds for coronavirus. The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and prison administrators Read More
Read MoreTexas Governor Greg Abbott is facing renewed calls to shrink jail populations to help people avoid possibly contracting COVID-19 as the state has become the nation’s biggest virus hotbed. By the end of June, more than 8,200 inmates in the Texas prison system had tested positive for COVID-19 and 79 prisoners had died of the Read More
Read MoreThe U.S. Constitution prohibits the setting of excessive bail in criminal cases. However, countless defendants in Texas are kept in custody awaiting trial solely because of a lack of financial resources. Requiring cash bail creates a significant disparity on the basis of income, regardless of the defendant’s potential danger to the community or risk of Read More
Read MoreAlong with the serious health risks associated with coronavirus, Americans are burdened by quarantine orders and similar directives that forbid them from seeing their loved ones, even for major events such as holidays and birthdays. It can be tempting to try to break the rules, especially for people who believe that they don’t fall into Read More
Read MoreIn Texas as elsewhere, bail allows criminal defendants to be released pending trial, under penalty of forfeiting their bail bonds if they fail to appear. Bail decisions are based upon the seriousness of the criminal charges and on the defendant’s criminal record, risk of flight and danger to the community. But in actual practice, bail Read More
Read MoreMiranda warnings have been a thorn in the side of prosecutors since the 1963 landmark Supreme Court ruling made denial of the right to counsel a ground for voiding a confession. But while a defendant may demand to have a lawyer present during questioning, there is no explicit right to representation at another critical stage Read More
Read MoreMore than two years after federal courts ruled cash bail systems in Dallas and Harris counties unconstitutional, the Texas legislature has been unable to pass bail reform legislation. In May 2019, the House passed a bill that would have implemented measures to make bail more available to poorer defendants. But the bill never made it Read More
Read MoreYou’ve just been arrested. You might feel like things can’t possibly get worse. But, what you may not realize is that by making certain mistakes, you could jeopardize your entire case. Criminal law is immensely complex and the justice system is practically impossible to navigate without legal skill and experience. Many crimes have a range Read More
Read MoreSeeing the flashing lights of a police car behind you can be nerve-wracking, especially if you’ve had anything to drink – even a single glass of wine. However, the purpose of the police force is to serve and protect, not hunt down law-abiding citizens. If you are stopped under suspicion of drunk driving, your behavior Read More
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