Bail Reform

What to Know: A federal judge says Dallas County must consider a defendant’s ability to pay when setting bail amounts.

“In a major victory for civil rights groups, a federal judge has banned Dallas County from using a predetermined schedule to set bail without considering other amounts or alternatives that would allow the suspects’ release from jail,” the Dallas Morning News reports. “Though U.S. District Judge David Godbey’s order is temporary, his ruling Thursday indicated that the groups that sued the county earlier this year ‘are substantially likely to prevail on the merits’ of their arguments. Godbey wrote that the policy of setting bail without regard for a defendant’s ability to pay violated the constitutional rights of arrestees to equal protection under the law.”

The TPPF Take: When bail schedules are so rote that two identical arrestees–who differ only by wealth–have different pre-trial release outcomes, the indigent individual’s freedom is conditioned upon ability to pay.

“This practice violates the Equal Protection Clause and does nothing for public safety,” says TPPF’s Derek Cohen. “Judges should make individualized pre-trial assessments to uphold our constitutional rights and to ensure the safety of our communities.”

More From CFACT: