header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
September 18
1962 - Articles of incorporation filed for Golden State Memorial Hospital on Lyons Avenue [story]
Golden State Hospital


| Wednesday, Aug 29, 2018
California Gov. Jerry Brown signs Senate Bill 10, which replaces the state’s current money bail system with risk assessments in a bid to incarcerate fewer people ahead of trial or sentencing. (Ryan Grant/California Department of Tax and Fee Administration)
California Gov. Jerry Brown signs Senate Bill 10, which replaces the state’s current money bail system with risk assessments in a bid to incarcerate fewer people ahead of trial or sentencing. (Ryan Grant/California Department of Tax and Fee Administration)

 

By Maria Dinzeo

Flanked by lawmakers and the state’s chief justice, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Tuesday doing away with California’s money bail system – enacting criminal justice reforms that have been lauded in the Legislature but sharply criticized by civil rights advocates for not going far enough.

“Today, California reforms its bail system so that rich and poor alike are treated fairly,” Brown said after signing Senate Bill 10, which replaces the current money bail system with pretrial risk assessments and lets local courts decide who should be released while awaiting trial or sentencing.

In a statement, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye praised the bill as a “fair and just solution for all Californians,” adding, “This is a transformative day for our justice system. Our old system of money bail was outdated, unsafe, and unfair.”

The law is set to take effect on Oct. 1, 2019, and promises to usher in a host of changes for how courts deal with pretrial detainees.

Judges will have wide discretion in determining who can be released from jail, and courts must establish “pretrial assessment services” to evaluate a defendant’s level of risk to public safety and make recommendations to judges about release conditions.

This work will be performed either by court employees, or the courts can contract a “new local pretrial assessment services agency established specifically to perform the role,” according to the text of the bill.

Funding for this new bureaucratic system will be provided by the Legislature and allocated to the local courts by the Judicial Council, which Cantil-Sakuaye chairs.

State Sen. Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, who introduced the measure in December 2016, unveiled amendments earlier this month that added the risk-assessment tools overseen by the courts and stripped pretrial release from individuals deemed high public safety risks.

A risk-assessment tool weighs factors in pretrial detainees’ background, including the charges faced, prior convictions and a history of failure to appear in court, and then assigns the defendant a risk level based on those factors.

The amendments caused the American Civil Liberties Union to withdraw support for the bill over concerns even more people will be incarcerated before trial.

In a statement, the executive directors of the ACLU’s three California affiliates said they were disappointed Brown had signed SB 10 into law.

“SB 10 is not the model for pretrial justice and racial equity that California should strive for. It cannot guarantee a substantial reduction in the number of Californians detained while awaiting trial, nor does it sufficiently address racial bias in pretrial decision making. Indeed, key provisions of the new law create significant new risks and problems,” the ACLU’s Abdi Soltani, Hector Villagra, and Norma Chávez Peterson said in the statement.

The three said they hoped Hertzberg would follow through on a commitment to address racial bias in risk assessment.

“The implementation of this bill – and subsequent legislation in this area – must ensure a significant reduction in incarceration and also provide due process and promote racial justice. We will work with lawmakers and our community partners to achieve that goal.”

Other groups had already jumped ship, like the Human Rights Watch and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, which agreed with the ACLU’s assessment in an opposition statement sent to the state Senate.

“As attorneys who represent the individuals who will be directly impacted by this bill, we believe there is a substantial likelihood that more people will be incarcerated pretrial than under current law,” the group said.

“While SB 10 eliminates money bail, the replacement could reduce the options for pretrial release for tens of thousands of Californians each year. CACJ is entrenched in our pursuit of a fair system that will enable individuals to be returned to their families, employment, and daily lives pretrial. Getting rid of money bail is meritorious; however, doing so by potentially expanding pretrial incarceration is unacceptable.”

SB 10 authors Hertzberg and Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, negotiated for almost a year with the reform groups and lobbyists for the bail industry, alongside Cantil-Sakauye and judges on her Pretrial Detention Reform Work Group.

The revised bill sailed through the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Aug. 16 and advanced to the Assembly floor on the Aug. 20, just after the amendments were adopted. It quickly cleared both the Assembly and the Senate and was on Brown’s desk the following day.

With the California Bail Reform Act now law, the fate of a federal class action against San Francisco and its sheriff Vicki Hennessy challenging the constitutionality of bail remains uncertain. While the case is set for trial on Sept. 17, the plaintiffs’ attorneys sent a letter to U.S District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers last week saying SB 10 pretty much resolves the case.

“In short, California is on the cusp of fundamentally altering the state’s system of bail, and implementing a law that abolishes the very bail schedule that plaintiffs seek to abolish via this case,” attorney Sadik Huseny said in the letter. “SB 10 is set to go into effect on Oct. 1, 2019 – over one year from now. But in plaintiffs’ view, the passage of that law makes clear, at the very least, that there is no genuine issue of material fact left in this case now.”

Rogers is expected to hear more on this issue at a pretrial conference on Sept. 7.

In a phone interview, attorney Phil Telfeyan with the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Equal Justice Under Law, who is also representing the plaintiffs, said the case is in limbo until the Sept. 7 hearing.

“I expect we will receive guidance from the court about what next steps the case will take. The judge may want to go forward with the trial or briefly postpone the trial. Given that SB 10 does not take effect until Oct. 1, 2019, the judge may decide that the case will go forward as planned,” he said.

Telfeyan has mixed feelings about California’s bail reform law. “I too am concerned that when implemented SB 10 will actually increase pretrial detention rates,” he said. “It is a positive because I think it does away with money bail schedules but I’m concerned about the increase in incarceration rates. We’ll have to remain cautious and vigilant to make sure peoples’ constitutional rights are not violated.”

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

22 Comments

  1. How many jobs and bail bond businesses did that just kill? Woo hoo CA………….the dictator just spoke!

  2. Brian Wood says:

    California wipes out the entire bail bonds industry in one fell swoop!

  3. Mike Duryea says:

    If you can’t pay the fine, don’t do the crime!! Jerry Clown is a complete moron!!!

  4. Jerry Ford says:

    SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT THIS GUY OUT OF OUR MISERY!

  5. he just put a lot of people out of work , he is a dickweed , screw him , asshole

  6. Jeanne says:

    The people arrested are very often found not guilty.
    Why should they have to pay thousands of dollars to wait for trial?

    REMEMBER INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, NOT GUILTY WHEN ACCUSED!!

  7. Dianna Jason says:

    Really? So they can get out faster to return to stealing our mail and trying to break into our homes? I can’t believe people support this jackass.

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024
Sept. 19: SENSES Pirate Block Party
Get ready to set sail at the Pirates SENSES Block Party, presented by the city of Santa Clarita, Thursday, Sept 19 from 7-10 p.m. on main street in Old Town Newhall.
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024
Foothill League Football Begins for SCV Teams
Six of the seven Foothill League Varsity football teams begin league play Friday night, Sept. 20.
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024
Public Health Investigating Disease Spread from Animals to Humans
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating two human cases of a rare parasitic infection, Baylisascaris procyonis, also known as raccoon roundworm.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
A "friendies" field tournament  is being  hosted by the Saugus Instrumental Music program, with support from Valencia High, later this month. 
Sept. 21: “The All Valley Showcase” Comes to Valencia High This Month
Public, member-supported 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound, Southern California’s leading Triple-A (adult album alternative) format radio station has announced the lineup for its inaugural “Year-End Bash” taking place on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Dec. 7: CSUN Owned 88.5-FM The SoCal Sound Announces “Year End Bash” Lineup featuring Ben Gibbard
The Master's University cross-country teams continued their successful 2024 campaigns with strong finishes at the BIOLA Invitational on Friday, Sept. 13 at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton, Calif.
TMU Women Win, Men Place Second at XC Invitational
Sheriff’s Department Announces New Law Enforcement Gang Policy
Sheriff’s Department Announces New Law Enforcement Gang Policy
The biology department at California State University, Northridge has stayed committed to promoting STEM research carried out by K-12 students and teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
CSUN Student Research Journal Celebrates 28 Years of Inspiring Scientific Imagination
Did you know the SCVEDC has an interactive, online tool that provides themed virtual tours of the amazing features the community has to offer? 
Take a Virtual Tour of the Santa Clarita Valley
California Institute of the Arts alum and visionary filmmaker Tim Burton (Film/Video 1979) was honored with the 2,788th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
CalArts Alum Tim Burton Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
1962 - Articles of incorporation filed for Golden State Memorial Hospital on Lyons Avenue [story]
Golden State Hospital
The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center welcomes back Jim Curry for an evening concert celebrating the music of John Denver on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Bella Vida.
Oct. 5: SCV Senior Center Welcomes Jim Curry ‘Take Me Home’
As part of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency's ongoing commitment to ensuring local groundwater quality and reliability, the SCV Water recently began construction on a new treatment facility to remove perchlorate and volatile organic compounds at Well 205 in Valencia.
SCV Water Begins New Water Treatment Project in Valencia
Get ready to set sail at the Pirates SENSES Block Party, presented by the city of Santa Clarita, Thursday, Sept 19 from 7-10 p.m. on main street in Old Town Newhall.
Sept. 19: SENSES Pirate Block Party
No. 21 College of the Canyons football team knocked off No. 5 Fullerton College 29-13 on Saturday night behind a stifling defensive effort and five field goals from Luis Rodriguez.
No. 21 Canyons Knocks Off No. 5 Fullerton 29-13
Six of the seven Foothill League Varsity football teams begin league play Friday night, Sept. 20.
Foothill League Football Begins for SCV Teams
The California Institute of the Arts will present the "NAACP Santa Clarita Masquerade Ball", Friday, Oct. 4, 7-11 p.m. at 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355.
Oct. 4: NAACP Santa Clarita Masquerade Ball at Cal Arts
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating two human cases of a rare parasitic infection, Baylisascaris procyonis, also known as raccoon roundworm.
Public Health Investigating Disease Spread from Animals to Humans
1879 - First official Newhall School building erected near Walnut & Ninth streets [story]
First Newhall School
The city of Santa Clarita is hosting Make A Difference Day on Saturday, Oct. 26 and is looking for enthusiastic residents to volunteer for various projects that benefit local nonprofits, as well as the city.
Oct. 26: Volunteers Needed for Make a Difference Day
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and PathPoint announced the graduation of Aiden Land and Andrew Mendence from the Project SEARCH internship program.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, PathPoint Celebrate Grad Interns
The William S. Hart Union High School District has announced upcoming community information meetings about Learning Post Academy Independent Study School, Thursday, Sept. 18 and Friday, Sept. 19.
Sept. 18-19: Learning Post Academy Online Information Meetings
The Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Sept. 18, 5 p.m. in open session to interview and appoint a new trustee for Area 5.
Sept. 18: COC Board to Interview, Appoint Area 5 Trustee
The city of Santa Clarita wants to remind residents that volunteer registration is open for the 29th Annual River Rally Cleanup and Environmental Expo scheduled for next Saturday, Sept. 21, from 8 to 11 a.m. at the William S. Hart Pony Baseball and Softball Complex, 23780 Auto Center Drive, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
Sept. 20: Last Chance to Register for the River Rally
The California Highway Patrol is dedicating Sept. 15-21 to promoting child passenger safety across California, focusing on the protection of the state’s youngest road users.
CHP Emphasizes Child Safety for National Child Passenger Safety Week
The regular meeting of the Saugus Union School District Governing Board will take place Tuesday, Sept. 17 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 17: SUSD Regular Board Meeting
West Ranch High School’s Studio A Jazz Band will be the opening act for the Huntertones, a Brooklyn-based sextet, who are coming to the Santa Clarita Valley for a one-night performance.
Sept 30: West Ranch Jazz Band to Open for Huntertones
SCVNews.com