First, here's an op-ed from the Editorial Board of the New York Times, talking about the lousy arguments the bail industry is using to keep money bail in place. A couple of gems from the editorial: (1) "Pretty much everyone who spends time examining the American system of cash bail comes away with the same conclusion: It's unjust, expensive, and ineffective, even counterproductive." (2) "But the profit motive can be a powerful bulwark against the truth."
Indeed.
Second, here's a single stop on my website where you can get all the briefs arguing against money bail in the Harris County case. Those in the bail industry trumpeting a brief signed by a few AGs might just note the brief signed by 67 current and former prosecutors and AGs representing 30 states and the District of Columbia. But wait, there's more -- defense attorneys through NACDL, religious leaders, the Cato Institute, NAPSA and PJI, the very conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation and Right on Crime, police and sheriffs, the American Bar Association, the Constitution Accountability Center, and even a single Harris County judge writing that he has proven that he can set bail lawfully without money.
The absolute worst for the industry, though, is the Conference of Chief Justices, which filed a rare brief in support of the appellee (that's the person who was locked up due to money). The CCJ is made up of every Chief Justice in all 50 states and the American territories. I don't even have to tell you what they said; the fact that they filed should give you a pretty severe ache in your stomach.
By the way, I didn't have enough tabs on my website for the Harris County stuff, so I deleted my "donate now" tab. It may come to a surprise to you if you listen to the bail insurance companies, but I've never received a dime from that website. Not even one penny. In fact, while I'm on the topic, I would estimate that I did about 75-80% of what I did the last year for free.
If you're in the for-profit bail industry, the fact that I do most of this for free -- and that I would do all of it for free if needed -- should freak you out just a bit.
Because I'm not alone.
