bail

Cartoon depicts individual begging for cash bail to a robot judge who is refusing it

The ‘Robopocalypse’ Fallacy: Lessons from California on Ending Cash Bail

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“Replacing cash bail: Fairer justice or robopocalypse?” This headline from a 2020 California news article encapsulates the rhetoric at the time surrounding Proposition 25, a California referendum to eliminate cash bail and provide judges making pretrial release decisions with a risk assessment instrument.

The association of ending cash bail with algorithmic decision-making embodies a complexity that members of the bail reform movement everywhere can examine in future efforts to bring greater access to justice for pretrial detainees.

Cartoon depicts individual begging for cash bail to a robot judge who is refusing it

Episode 37: Navigating Pretrial Risk Assessments and Cash Bail Reform

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Is ending cash bail a path to a fairer justice system? California attempted this route in 2018 with its SB10, which would have ended cash bail statewide and replaced it with pretrial risk assessment. The effort could potentially have avoided a two-tiered, wealth-based system, but it fell short with voters. This “Student Voices” episode of Proof Over Precedent dives into the debate over cash bail, what went wrong with the SB 10 campaign, and lessons for future bail reform efforts.

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