Bail Reform

The mayors of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco wrap themselves in the language of progressivism, but when it comes to the criminal legal system they’re Trumpian.

“Hundreds of registered sex offenders will gather on Halloween to spend several hours under supervision in an effort to make the community feel safer,” reports Taylor Pettaway for the San Antonio Express-News. For the last decade, the probation department in San Antonio, Texas, has been holding what they call “Project S.A.F.E. Halloween,” requiring sex offenders from across […]

Advocates say that despite the election of several progressive prosecutors in the state, there’s a substantial increase in such detentions, which are stymieing gains made through policies to limit cash bail.

The New York Post used a tragedy to target bail reform activists, rather than point to the challenges of a failed mental health system and poverty.

The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund said it doesn’t want to ‘prop up an unjust system.’

A series of victories for advocates reflects a shift in the ‘popular narrative’ around bail.

Advocates warn that overuse of ankle monitors and other forms of electronic monitoring produce consequences of their own.

How high or low bond is isn’t a measure of how severe the state considers a crime.

The 2020 presidential candidates recently unveiled national criminal justice agendas that reimagine public safety and punishment.

A lawsuit is challenging Mohave County’s practice of charging certain people for mandatory GPS monitoring before trial.

In Cook County, Illinois, 99 percent of defendants deemed ‘high risk’ for pretrial violence don’t reoffend.

Establishment candidate Melinda Katz declared a narrow victory in the New York City borough’s district attorney primary, but progressive Tiffany Cabán pushed the race to the left on issues like marijuana and sex work.

Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. Last week, court watchers from the Philadelphia Bail Fund and a journalist filed a federal lawsuit to challenge a ban on audio recording during bail hearings, arguing that […]

An organizer in the effort to close New York City’s Rikers Island jails is challenging Cyrus Vance Jr., whom he calls ‘the city’s leading jailer.’

The backlash is underway against a recent wave of prosecutors who champion criminal justice reform. Here are some methods of attack.

The criminal and juvenile legal systems are drivers of poverty. Presidential candidates should recognize that.

A company in Cleveland County exemplifies how for-profit legal services affect poor and vulnerable individuals.

Krasner’s office acknowledges ‘there’s room to move forward and do more.’

CBS 2 Chicago relied on police voices and irrelevant data to question efforts to end cash bail.

As the Hampton Roads Regional Jail proposes spending $7 million for 113 new guards, advocates renew calls for officials to improve conditions—and an Appeal analysis suggests that the jail could save millions by incarcerating fewer people with mental illness.

The criminalization of poverty in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, has led to a staggering increase in incarcerated people, all at a huge cost for defendants and taxpayers alike.

Despite accounting for less than 12 percent of the state’s adult population, roughly 40 percent of all bail bonds were issued in cases involving a Black defendant.

A number of people spent multiple days at the Atlanta City Detention Center for low-level offenses, including for driving while using a cell phone and for walking in the roadway.

The bail bonds industry was caught overcharging 50,000 families $6 million over 14 years, according to SPLC.

In a case of mistaken identity, Jada Noone was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police, spent 15 days in jail and faced a felony drug case before charges were dismissed. She’s now suing over her false arrest.

With Hannah Sassaman and Matt Henry

The reality of risk assessment algorithms is complicated. Critics say bias can creep in at every stage, from development to implementation to application.

As they await statewide action to eliminate cash bail, city councilmembers are looking for ways to reduce the financial burden on families of incarcerated people.

There are more than 2,700 people on electronic monitoring in Cook County, Illinois, alone.

A lawsuit challenging cash bail in St. Louis could help close a notorious jail.

Colorado-based attorney and bail activist Elisabeth Epps was just released after serving a short jail stint related to a 2015 encounter with Aurora Police. The experience gave her a new understanding of the experiences of the people she has bailed out.

‘How are we making sure that we’re not just building and building a system that we know is not necessarily effective?’

Boston’s top prosecutor says big changes are in the works; advocates plan to keep pushing.

In a wide-ranging interview, Boudin, a progressive reform candidate, told The Appeal he wants to redefine ‘public safety’ to encompass the rights of both victims and defendants.

Harris County Judge Darrell Jordan discusses his newly elected colleagues’ decision to withdraw an appeal of a landmark bail reform lawsuit.

Prosecutors denounce bail reform efforts when people miss court dates, but ‘failure to appear’ rates obscure the fact that many who miss court aren’t on the run.

Advocates noted that bail gives prosecutors leverage to get guilty pleas from people who can’t afford to buy their way out of jail.

A notoriously unreliable roadside drug test administered by Monroe County sheriff’s deputies led to Dasha Fincher being charged with methamphetamine trafficking.

From sheriffs to bail to marijuana, and more—here’s what you need to know.

Republican misdemeanor judges in Houston have clung to an unconstitutional bail system. But their intransigence could cost them their seats.