A Brief Recap of Some of the New Laws Affecting Californians in 2020 California legislators were busy in 2019 writing hundreds of new laws that will take effect this month and in the future. This article will touch on a few major areas that will affect Californians in 2020 and beyond. Gun Regulations A host […]
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Law Enforcement Officers Question Efficacy of Recent Bail Reform Legislation Bail reform legislation set to go into effect on January 1, 2020 is meeting reservation from the citizens of Greene County. According to a recent article by Hudson Valley 360, “County lawmakers and police officers are taking a stand against state-mandated bail reforms coming Jan
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29% of Voters Are Unsure of How They Will Vote on Bail Reform in 2020 According to a recent poll conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies for the Los Angeles Times, “29% of voters are undecided” whether they would vote to cancel the new bail reform initiative or keep it in place.
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A Brief Explanation of the Most Common Types of Bail Bonds There seems to be a lot of misconception about bail bonds in today’s media. Many people are unclear exactly how bail works and what options are available. Surety Bonds A surety bond is what people typically think of when they imagine posting bail. When
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As originally reported by Julian Gill of the Houston Chronicle, 22-year-old Alex Guajardo allegedly stabbed and killed his girlfriend after being released on personal bond for misdemeanor assault. Guajardo was originally arrested for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend. As reported by the Chronicle, Guajardo allegedly punched his girlfriend multiple times in the face. After his arrest
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Constitutional Amendment Sought to Protect a Person’s Right to Bail In an effort to protect a defendant’s right to bail, the California bail industry is seeking an amendment to the constitution. According to a recent article published by Capital Public Radio, if successful the proposed amendment to the Constitution would be put on the
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Considering the Rights of a Defendant As bail reform considerations take place across the country, few people have talked about why bail was established to begin with and how eliminating bail without an adequate substitute could take away certain rights provided to a defendant. First, bail is not the enemy. Yes, there are issues in
Why Both Sides Agree that Bail Alternatives Don’t Solve the Problem Bail reform debates are raging across the country, but what is the alternative? Proposed algorithm-based judgments to determine pretrial release seem to exacerbate the problem. Bail reformers argue that bail discriminates against minorities and the disenfranchised, but many argue that the alternative – risk-based
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A Look at Nevada’s Proposed Bail Reform Legislation Nevada is the latest state to struggle with how to reform a broken system. America’s criminal justice system is in dire need of an overhaul but legislators have yet to figure out the best way to go about it. In 2017, Nevada attempted to pass bail reform
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Why Many Are Questioning Whether Risk Assessment Programs Are Truly Unbiased If you have been following the bail reform debate you know that one suggested alternative to having a judge set bail is using a risk assessment program. These systems use a predictive algorithm to determine whether a person should be eligible for pretrial release.
Oversight Called for On Risk Assessment Systems Read More »