5/26/2015 On the Heels of Ferguson and Baltimore, Public Defenders and the Pretrial Justice Institute Call for End to the Predatory Use of Money in the Criminal Ju…
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On the Heels of Ferguson and Baltimore, Public
Defenders and the Pretrial Justice Institute Call for
End to the Predatory Use of Money in the Criminal
Justice System
by Ed Monahan, Public Advocate, Department of Public Advocacy
on Friday, May 15, 2015
From the
NAPD and
Pretrial Justice Institute
Press Release, issued May
14, 2015.
In the wake of the
excessive and
discriminatory use of
court fees and moneybased bail in Ferguson
and Baltimore, the National Association for Public Defense (NAPD) issued a POLICY
STATEMENT ON THE PREDATORY COLLECTION OF COSTS, FINES, AND FEES IN AMERICA’S
CRIMINAL COURTS calling for ending funding government on the backs of poor clients.
Among other reforms, NAPD called for an end to money-based bail, which too often
means that poor people stay in jail and lose their low wage jobs while people with money
enjoy the presumption of innocence and their freedom.
Calling for change now, Tim Young, Ohio Public Defender and Chair of NAPD said, “We
must have courts that are focused on justice not on collecting revenue. The presumption
of innocence pretrial should not be for people with money while the poor stay jailed,
disproportionately impacting people of color; especially when there is no evidence that
money bail has any correlation with the risk of reoffending or showing up in court. A fair
and balanced system of pretrial release ought to be based on public safety, not on the
person’s status as rich or poor. ”
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Cherise Fanno Burdeen, Executive Director, Pretrial Justice Institute said, “We are at a
crossroads with over-incarceration in America, made more apparent after recent protests
in Baltimore and Ferguson. The Pretrial Justice Institute applauds the National Association
for Public Defense for their leadership on this issue at this crucial time and fully supports
their call for the end of money-based justice practices that lead to cycles of debt and
incarceration. We believe that, at the pretrial stage, the use of money, in any way, should
never result in the detention of an accused individual. The decision to release or detain a
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5/26/2015 On the Heels of Ferguson and Baltimore, Public Defenders and the Pretrial Justice Institute Call for End to the Predatory Use of Money in the Criminal Ju…
defendant should be based on an individualized measure of risk, not the ability to pay.”
You can read the NAPD Policy Statement in its entirety online at:
http://www.publicdefenders.us/sites/default/files/NAPD_Statement_on_Predatory_Collection_Practices.pdf
Reform is needed now as demonstrated by the United States Department of Justice’s
Statement of Interest in a case challenging unconstitutional pretrial release restrictions,
stating, “Incarcerating individuals solely because of their inability to pay for their release,
whether through the payment of fines, fees, or a cash bond, violates the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395, 398 (1971);
Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235, 240-41 (1970); Smith v. Bennett, 365 U.S. 708, 709
(1961)…. Fundamental and long-standing principles of equal protection squarely prohibit
bail schemes based solely on the ability to pay.” CHRISTY DAWN VARDEN, et al. v. THE
CITY OF CLANTON, Case No. 2:15-cv-34-MHT-WC, (Class Action).
The NAPD Statement stresses the harsh consequences of the unacceptable unequal
treatment of those without money “Requiring monetary bond to ensure payment of fines
and costs later in the case has other consequences when individuals cannot pay. Whether
a person can afford bail can be outcome determinative at trial or upon plea bargaining.
Defendants who are detained for the entire pretrial period before their case is decided are
over four times more likely to be sentenced to jail and over three times more likely to be
sentenced to prison than defendants who are released at some point pending trial.” The NAPD Statement calls for an end to the unsound criminal justice monetary policy in
place across the country, “The collection of costs, fines, and fees in criminal courts across
the United States are predatory and an economic failure. These predatory practices
impact poor people in catastrophic and life altering ways and are disproportionately
levied against people of color. Public policy weighs strongly against funding government
on the backs of poor people.”
The Pretrial Justice Institute is a national organization working to advance safe, fair, and
effective pretrial justice that honors and protects all people. They do this by working
collaboratively with organizations and funders who support pragmatic solutions guided
by research and the law. Learn more at www.pretrial.org.
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