What a Difference Five Years Makes!

Back in 2012, the bail insurance companies released a "PR Web" article saying, "Judges Confirm That Bail Bond Agents Play an Important Role in the Criminal Justice System." You see, some bail insurance dudes apparently went to the American Judges Association Conference that year, conducted a "survey," and concluded that 90% of judges say bail agents play an important role. The article is fascinating, as the insurance dude describes handing out his unbiased survey along with several hundred "I Love My Judge" buttons. I think that's how Pew does it, right?

Oh well, cut to 2017, and you can read the new American Judge's Association Resolution Number 2, in which the association urges judges to, among other things, "call for the elimination of commercially secured bonds at any time during the pretrial phase."

Ouch.

So, I think the lesson is twofold. First, the ABC/PBUS strategy of fighting everything is really backfiring. Second, don't necessarily believe what you read from the bail insurance dudes.  

Bail and Human Dignity

Here’s a link to two pretty great reports put out by the John Jay College’s Prisoner Reentry Institute and the Arnold Foundation. The first is called, Pretrial Practice: Rethinking the Front End of the Criminal Justice System, and the second is called, Pretrial Practice: Building a National Research Agenda for the Front End of the Criminal Justice System.

I was at the conference leading to the first report, and a bunch of us submitted papers. Interestingly, though, the whole thing started revolving around a single issue, which was the need for more human dignity in the criminal process. It began with a discussion of Jonathan Simon’s paper on pretrial dignity, and pretty much continued on that theme for the rest of the conference.

I only mention that because I see that ExpertBail, a network of so-called “professional” bail agents created by AIA Surety to challenge the public’s negative perception of those agents, continues to post pictures and make fun of how defendants look on its Facebook page – pretty much the opposite of caring for human dignity.  

Do you really wonder why the insurance companies are losing this fight?