红杏视频

OKLAHOMA CITY 鈥� The 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of Oklahoma, and Covington & Burling LLP announced a landmark agreement today with court leadership in Canadian County, Oklahoma that, if approved by the federal judge presiding over the case, would put an end to the unconstitutional practice of jailing people simply because they cannot afford bail. Under the agreement, judges in Canadian County must determine a person鈥檚 ability to pay before imposing cash bail. The agreement also prohibits conditioning release on paying cash bail unless the court finds that doing so is necessary because nonfinancial conditions will not adequately ensure future court appearance or protect the public. This marks a major step toward ending wealth-based detention in Oklahoma. 鈥淭his agreement marks a major step toward ending a two-tiered justice system in Oklahoma where wealth determined who stayed in jail and who walked free,鈥� said Brandon Buskey, director of the 红杏视频鈥檚 Criminal Law Reform Project. 鈥淔or far too long, people who are presumed innocent have been languishing in jail when they could have otherwise been safely in their communities. The procedures we have implemented are critical to building a more just and equitable pretrial system for all.鈥� If approved, the settlement would resolve a federal class action lawsuit, White v. Hesse, brought in 2019 on behalf of people detained pretrial in Canadian County. Plaintiffs challenged the unconstitutional use of a preprinted bail schedule and the policy and practice of imposing cash bail without individualized hearings or ability to pay assessments. As a result, people were routinely held in jail for weeks without receiving a meaningful hearing. 鈥淪pending even a few days in jail can upend a person鈥檚 entire life,鈥� said Megan Lambert, legal director at the 红杏视频 of Oklahoma. 鈥淧eople risk losing their jobs, their housing, and even custody of their children, making it more difficult to rebuild their lives upon release. Cash bail traps people in a cycle of discrimination, poverty, and incarceration. Today鈥檚 agreement interrupts that cycle to better ensure that no one is locked up simply because they cannot afford to pay for their freedom.鈥� The full agreement is here: /cases/white-et-al-v-hesse-et-al?document=Consent-Decree

WASHINGTON 鈥� President Trump signed two executive orders today attempting to end Washington, D.C.鈥檚 cash bail reforms and threatening to withhold federal funds from cities with similar policies. Below is a statement from Cynthia Roseberry, director of policy and government affairs with the 红杏视频鈥檚 Justice Division, in response to the orders: 鈥淭o further his dangerous, performative abuse of power in D.C., President Trump today took another step to make people in our nation鈥檚 capital less safe by targeting common sense bail reforms. These executive orders are another blatant power grab by the Trump administration that will only serve to benefit the predatory bail industry. But the people who will be most impacted are those with the fewest resources. Whether we can afford to pay should never determine our freedom.鈥� 鈥淭he President鈥檚 attempt to end cash bail risks increasing pretrial detention, which is not a real solution to preventing crime in D.C. It can actually have a negative effect on public safety, by separating people from their support networks, jobs, and housing,鈥� said Alicia Yass, supervisory policy counsel at 红杏视频 of the District of Columbia. 鈥淓ven short periods of unnecessary detention increase a person's risk of re-arrest, and cash bail has been associated with a 6 to 9 percent increase in reoffending or committing another crime. Cash bail has long punished people living below the poverty line 鈥� especially Black and Brown communities. It is our constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Pretrial detention does just the opposite 鈥� it treats certain people as guilty until proven innocent.鈥�

As a result of Georgia Senate Bill 63, thousands of people are being kept in jail pre-trial because they can鈥檛 afford to post bail, even when a judge believes the person should have been released until trial with no risk to the public. The 红杏视频鈥檚 Criminal Law Reform Project, along with 红杏视频-GA and the Southern Center for Human Rights, filed a class action lawsuit challenging SB63鈥檚 mandatory monetary bail provisions under the Georgia State Constitution.

ATLANTA, GA鈥� Today, the 红杏视频, the 红杏视频 of Georgia, and the Southern Center for Human Rights filed Coronell, et al. v. Georgia, a class action lawsuit brought by people denied an individual determination of bail and Women on the Rise, a grassroots organization led by formerly incarcerated women that advocates for ending cash bail and pretrial incarceration. The lawsuit seeks to strike down Senate Bill 63, a Georgia law passed in 2024, that has led to thousands of people with low or no income being kept in jail before having a trial, even when a judge believes the person should have been released, with no risk to the public.鈥疶he lawsuit challenges SB 63鈥檚 mandatory cash bond provisions under the due process clause of the Georgia state constitution. 鈥疶he plaintiffs ask the court to declare SB 63 unconstitutional and enter a permanent injunction that prevents state actors from enforcing its mandatory cash bond provisions. 鈥淲omen on the Rise鈥檚 involvement in this lawsuit is important to us because鈥痮f the injustices we see that are happening to those the system says are presumed innocent until proven guilty.鈥疍enying bail can undermine this principle, as people may be held in custody despite not having been convicted of a crime,鈥� said Robyn Hasan-Simpson, executive director of Women on the Rise. 鈥淥ur hope is that this gives access to everyone to gain their freedom while addressing the charges that have been brought against them, for those to maintain employment, housing, and fulfilling the role they have as members in our community.鈥濃�� SB 63 makes cash bond mandatory for dozens of charges, most of them misdemeanors. When a person is arrested and accused of such an offense, SB 63 forces a judge to set a cash bond that the person must pay to get bailed out of jail. When setting bail, judges are no longer allowed to take into account critical facts and circumstances 鈥� such as a person鈥檚 strong family connections, local community ties, and employment record; the absence of past criminal convictions; and a history of following court requirements 鈥攖hat show that a person can be safely released under less-restrictive conditions while still assuring they will return to court and not endanger the public. This inevitably leads to people being incarcerated, often in dangerous jails, simply because of poverty. 鈥淯nder SB 63, people who cannot afford to pay a cash bond will be forced to languish in jail, often for weeks or months,鈥� said Julian Clark, staff attorney with the 红杏视频鈥檚 Criminal Law Reform Project. 鈥淏y punishing those unable to pay for their freedom with incarceration SB 63 imposes significant societal costs 鈥� ones that are disproportionately incurred by Black and brown communities. No one鈥檚 freedom should depend on how much money they have.鈥� Plaintiff Sierrah Coronell has been incarcerated for 77 days because she cannot afford to pay her $600 cash bond. As directed by SB 63, the judge was not permitted to consider whether any release conditions other than cash bond would reasonably ensure her appearance in court and the safety of the public. Prior to her arrest, Ms. Coronell was the primary caregiver of her five children, ages 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15. As a result of her incarceration, Ms. Coronell is unable to care for her children, leaving her mother and her children鈥檚 father to be their sole caretakers in her absence. Ms. Coronell鈥檚 incarceration has also forced her to miss her oldest daughter's 15th birthday. 鈥淕eorgia is a particularly cruel state that locks up a higher percentage of its population than any independent democratic country in the world. This lawsuit would bring an end to holding the most vulnerable people at Fulton County Jail and in all jails across the state simply because they can鈥檛 afford to pay bail. These practices are wasteful, costly, cause overcrowding, and do not improve public safety. We are committed to ending these cruel and unconstitutional policies in Georgia,鈥� said Andrea Young, executive director, 红杏视频 of Georgia. 鈥淚鈥檝e met many people in Georgia jails who cannot get out because they cannot buy their way out.鈥疨eople who don鈥檛 have loved ones who can pay a couple hundred dollars, or in some cases as little as 10 dollars, to post their鈥痓ail.鈥� People who the courts have deemed ready for release but remain in jail for no other reason than their low income.鈥� SB 63 isn鈥檛 making us safer.鈥� It鈥檚 keeping our jails full, separating people from their jobs, families, and homes, and all but guaranteeing that people leave worse than when they came in.鈥� It鈥檚 difficult to think of a more backwards policy,鈥� said鈥疞achlan Athanasiou, legal fellow in SCHR鈥檚 Impact Litigation Unit.