On Aug. 27, the California Supreme Court issued an order on Aug 27 making a key part of the California First Appellate Court’s groundbreaking bail opinion in In re Humphrey binding on trial courts pending final resolution.
That opinion requires trial courts across the state to take into account an individual’s circumstances and ability to pay in setting bail.
With this new order, trial courts may no longer unquestioningly rely on bail schedules, which, for low-income individuals arrested for felonies, amounts to “a virtual presumption of incarceration,” according to Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
In his letter to the state Supreme Court, Becerra reiterated that under the principles of due process, pretrial detention should depend on an individual assessment of the need for a person to be detained, rather than on a defendant’s financial resources. Simply put, people should not be locked up before trial just because they are genuinely unable to afford bail.
“In making bail determinations, trial courts across California must now take into account individual circumstances and the person’s ability to pay,” said Becerra. “Bottom line: this is a critical step forward for fairness in our bail system. I’m grateful to the California Supreme Court for taking swift action on this request.”
The ruling is at www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/revpub/A152056.PDF