07
Dec 2018At What Cost?
What Will SB10 Cost Taxpayers In estimating the costs of SB10 to taxpayers, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee estimates that it would likely cost “in the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually.” The costs mainly stem from the need for courts to create, staff and train a pretrial services program. Other estimates put it at closer to an annual cost of $1 billion or...
Read More
29
Nov 2018Criminal Justice Reform Begins with Open Dialogue
Recently over 365,000 signatures were submitted in an effort to suspend the implementation of California’s Senate Bill 10. The law would effectively eliminate cash bail in favor of a pretrial detention system based on risk assessment algorithms. The bill, signed earlier this year, was to take effect October 2019, but a strong opposition backed with major financial support gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum. ...
Read More
20
Nov 2018Opponents to SB10 Successful in Gathering Signatures
The effort to overturn SB10, California’s Bail Reform Law, cleared one hurdle this week by submitting more than the required number of signatures for a referendum. A veto referendum would take the measure to the voters on the 2020 ballot. Voters would then decide the fate of California’s bail system. Now that the signatures have been submitted, election officials must verify them. If enough signatures...
Read More
15
Nov 2018Uncertain Path for California Bail Reform
With just over a week to go, those opposed to SB10, California’s Bail Reform Law, are busy gathering signatures in the hope to place a stay on the enforcement of the new law. If successful, the law would go to voters on the 2020 ballot. Opponents must gather 365,880 signatures by November 26, 2018. The veto referendum would allow California voters to decide whether the...
Read More
06
Nov 2018In a Divided Climate, Unlikely Sides Unite Against SB10
Division in the United States is common. We live and breathe the fact that our country is so divided we can hardly find the common ground that once united us. Today, perhaps more than most days, we need to find some uniting force and we may have found it in an unlikely source. The fight against SB10, California’s Bail Reform Law, was once tackled by...
Read More
30
Oct 2018Over $2.5 Million Raised to Repeal SB10
Opponents to SB10, California’s Bail Reform Act, have less than a month left to gather 365,880 signatures. If enough signatures are gathered the measure will be placed on the 2020 ballot for voters to decide whether it should take effect. Implementation of SB10 would effectively be put on hold until after voters decide the merits of the proposed act. If the referendum is unsuccessful and...
Read More
22
Oct 2018Bail Reform and the Challenges Ahead
Immediately after Governor Jerry Brown signed SB10, the California Money Bail Reform Act, into law late this summer, opponents were already outlining plans to get a referendum taking the law to the voters in 2020. A successful referendum would place a hold on the law going into effect in October 2019. Last minute changes to the bill caused ardent supporters such as the NAACP and...
Read More
15
Oct 2018Opposition to Bail Reform Brings Unlikely Bedfellows
As opponents of SB10, California’s Bail Reform Law, gather signatures in hopes of a referendum which would put a hold on the law and take it to the voters in 2020, many may wonder who is leading the opposition and why. Undoubtedly, bail bondsmen have been critical of the proposed elimination of the cash bail but other, perhaps more unlikely, critics of SB10 have emerged. ...
Read More
08
Oct 2018The Problem with SB10 and Preventive Detention
As we have written about several times, the recent passage of Senate Bill 10, has thrown the California Criminal Justice System in a frenzy. The bill requires the creation of pretrial services programs throughout the state, requiring additional staffing, monitoring and training of court officials. If the referendum (an effort by SB10 opponents to get enough signatures to take the initiative to the voters) fails,...
Read More
29
Sep 2018Case Study in Bail Reform: Rockingham County
As opponents to California’s bail reform law SB10 continue to gather votes for a referendum to take it to the voters in 2020, it is important to note how similar bail reform laws have affected other communities. Case in point: Rockingham County, New Hampshire. Senate Bill 556 was passed by the New Hampshire legislature with the intent of changing the bail procedures throughout the state. ...
Read More