Proposal to radically overhaul California's bail system advances in Legislature

California could soon end money bail, but some of the criminal justice groups who worked toward that goal aren’t celebrating.

A closely-watched bill to overhaul the state’s bail system advanced out of a key fiscal committee on Thursday with broad changes that would virtually eliminate the payment of money as a condition for release from jail.

That should have been a roaring victory for legislators and supporters who have long decried a system that they say unfairly punishes the poor. But the amendments also hand over more control to local courts and probation offices to decide who should remain incarcerated, a move former sponsors of the legislation contend could lead to indefinite detention.

State Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), co-author of Senate Bill 10, hailed the bill at a press conference on Thursday, calling it a success years in the making. He pointed to support from Gov. Jerry Brown, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Democratic front-runner for governor Gavin Newsom, the state’s lieutenant governor.

“I have worked on a lot of issues over the decades and I don’t remember one taking more time than this,” he said. “It has been really challenging making this fundamental sea change in the criminal justice system in California.”

Hertzberg later pushed back against criticism of the bill, saying it would dramatically transform a pretrial system that hurts poor defendants.

“We have a form of pretrial detention now, it is called bail,” Hertzberg said. “And guess what pretrial detention is? If you don’t have any money, you don’t get out.”

Some bail reform advocates have continued to support the bill, hoping to play a major role in implementation.

“The momentum behind SB 10 is strong, and we can’t miss the chance to move justice forward this year while continuing to press for further reforms,” said Laphonza Butler, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 2015.

But some sponsors dropped their support amid negotiations in recent weeks, and others are working to the kill the legislation. The American Civil Liberties Union, which has been working on the issue for years, moved on its position to neutral on Thursday.

More:

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-bail-reform-california-20180816-story.html