Monetary Bail Unfairly Disadvantages Working-Class Defendants, Long Beach State University Researchers Find
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 3, 2018) – Criminal justice researchers at Long Beach State University found that judges rarely assess a defendant’s case individually when determining bail amount during criminal court proceedings. Seldom does a defendant’s ability to pay the amount factor into the decision on bail amounts, but rather judges adhere to bail schedules with little consideration for an individual defendant’s case.
In a study on Southern California bail proceedings, LBSU assistant professor and attorney Christine Scott-Hayward and alumna Sarah Ottone visited 15 courthouses in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Their observations included 234 cases, mostly at three locations: the Santa Ana Jail, the Gov. George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach and the Clara Shortridge Foltz Justice Center in Los Angeles.
They found that many defendants remain in custody when charged with a crime not because of flight risk, but because of inability to post bail.
“Because we have a monetary bail system, whether or not you get out of jail depends on how much money you have,” Scott-Hayward said. “It punishes poor people.”
Anecdotally, defense attorneys told them that many working-class and low-income defendants view pleading guilty as the more expedient and affordable option, regardless of guilt. Defense attorneys also rarely contest the amount of bail their client must pay to be released before trial.
“Our interviews suggest they (defense attorneys) see the system as intransigent,” Scott-Hayward said. “They don’t think that their making arguments is going to help. The culture in the court system is that these individuals work together every day, and if you rock the boat too much it doesn’t always benefit your client.”
While judges are given the discretion to individually consider a defendant’s case and circumstances, few deviate from set bail schedules, researchers found.
The paper comes at a time when the California Supreme Court and legislature have mulled bail reform.
The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society.
Scott-Hayward is available for interviews and can be reached at christine.scott-hayward@csulb.edu.
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About the campus:Long Beach State University is a teaching-intensive, research-driven university committed to providing highly valued undergraduate and graduate degrees critical for success in the globally minded 21st century. Annually ranked among the best universities in the West and among the best values in the entire nation, the university’s eight colleges serve more than 37,500 students. The campus values and is recognized for rich educational opportunities provided by excellent faculty and staff, exceptional degree programs, diversity of its student body, fiduciary and administrative responsibility and the positive contributions faculty, staff, students and more than 300,000 alumni make on society.
About Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society: Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that succeeded its predecessor Western Criminology Review. Its aim is promoting the understanding of the causes of crime, legal and political framework and methods used in preventing crime.
