A federal judge has granted the California Bail Agents Association to defend the California Bail System in a federal lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco against San Francisco Sheriff Vicki Hennessy. Last week, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez allowed the Bail Agents Association the right to defend the current bail system. Equal Justice Under Law filed the suit against the Sheriff alleging it discriminates against the poor. They have filed 11 suits in total including one in Sacramento. The judge stated that the intervention of the Bail Agents Association allows for zealous advocacy on both sides of an important constitutional issue.
Recently, the California Department of Insurance conducted a panel regarding bail reform and the potential risks or benefits of eliminating the bail system. Many people spoke out against any such elimination citing the extreme risk to victims who would not be represented absent a bail hearing at pre-trial release considerations, the public-at-large who would lose the protection that bail agents afford and taxpayers who would foot the bill of a state that relies solely on court monitoring. Head of the American Bail Coalition, Jeffrey Clayton, spoke on behalf of bail agents across the state advocating the current system which helps to ensure defendants appear in court without burdening the taxpayers. Tony Rackauckas, Orange County District Attorney, stated the importance of bail and the impact it has particularly on high risk defendants. Nina Salarno of Crime Victims United defended the rights of victims to have their day in court, a day more protected with a cash bail system than without it.