{"id":3399,"date":"2018-09-04T19:50:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-04T19:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vikbajaj.wpengine.com\/?p=3399"},"modified":"2018-09-04T19:50:25","modified_gmt":"2018-09-04T19:50:25","slug":"california-replaces-money-bail-with-risk-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquahealphysiotherapy.com\/vblaw\/california-replaces-money-bail-with-risk-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"California Replaces Money Bail with Risk Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"

California recently became the first state in the country to ditch the money bail<\/a> system. The new law prevents courts from assigning bail to defendants following an arrest. Instead, whether or not a defendant should be released will depend on that person\u2019s perceived threat to society. The shift away from money bail is intended to reduce racial bias and discrimination in California\u2019s criminal justice system.<\/p>\n

When is California Getting Rid of Money Bail?<\/h2>\n

The California Money Bail Reform Act<\/a> was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on August 28, 2018. However, the law itself will not become effective until October 1, 2019. This means that you can still be held in lieu of bail after an arrest for the next year. Why is California waiting so long to implement the new law? The state needs time to fully develop and adjust to a new system.<\/p>\n

Racial Bias in the Money Bail System<\/h2>\n

Bail<\/a> is a way of punishing defendants before they are ever even tried for a crime. Unfortunately, under the money bail system, minorities are more likely to suffer. Research shows that black defendants are much more likely to be assigned bail than white defendants. Black defendants aren\u2019t just assigned bail more frequently than white defendants. The amount of bail a black defendant is required to pay is generally much more than a non-black defendant. At least one study found that black defendants are assigned bail amounts that are nearly $10,000 greater than white defendants. Another study found that bail for black defendants tends to be 4 times<\/a> higher than bail for white defendants.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to understand that black and minority defendants begin to fight racial bias<\/a> from the moment they are pulled over or stopped by police. Black and minority defendants are more likely to be:<\/p>\n