A “yes” vote on Proposition 25 would approve a 2018 law, signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, which replaced the money bail system for obtaining release from jail before trial, with a system based on a determination of public safety and flight risk. It limits detention of a person in jail before trial for most misdemeanors.
Supporters believe the proposition calls out the injustice of a money bail system that preys on the poor while allowing the privileged to buy their way out of jail.
A recent study that showed that the Los Angeles Police Department levied some $19 billion in bail on defendants between 2012 and 2016.
Proponents of 25 include the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times; The Anti-Recidivism Coalition; Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37); State Sen. Holly Mitchel (D-30); The California Democratic Party; and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Opponents believe Proposition 25 will replace the right to post bail with a county-administered system of computer-based profiling to determine who goes free and who stays behind baas pending trial. They also say that it will require additional court hearings to overrule any computer’s decision, causing delays in courts.
Law enforcement groups and the bail industry say “no.” “I’ve been a bail bondsman for 37 years and we are the closest thing there is to lady justice,” said Topo Padilla. “We work to get people released from jail. We believe they have that constitutional right. We fight for those people in jail. We advocate that justice be served. That they get their day in court.”
Padilla said that the bail industry has been trying to lower the costs in the state for some time and agreed that the criminal justice system needs to be fixed.
“Bail schedules in California are the highest in this country,” Padilla said. “But we need to have sufficient security that this person will come back to court.”
Prop. 25 opponents include Alice Huffman, president of the California NAACP; Christine Ward, executive director of the Crime Victims Alliance; and Joe Coto, president of United Latinos Vote. They believe that 25 is unfair, unsafe and will cost state and local governments hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
