HARRISBURG, Pa. - Civil liberties advocates say Philadelphia courts aren't following the rules for the use of cash bail, which is keeping people in jail just because they're poor.
In the latest briefs filed in a 2019 class-action lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has asked the state Supreme Court to clarify and enforce the rules for imposing bail on those charged with a crime.
The court already has rules in place to prevent people living in poverty from being routinely incarcerated before trial simply because they can't afford bail.
But Nyssa Taylor, criminal justice policy counsel for the ACLU of Pennsylvania says even a few days in jail can have drastic consequences.
"Someone can lose access to necessary medications, they can lose their job, custody of children," says Taylor. "All of the devastating consequences."
She says enforcing the rules for cash bail in Philadelphia would have a ripple effect, spreading to other counties across the state.
Taylor points out that judges are supposed to consider ten factors - including family history and community ties - before setting bail. But she says bail hearings last an average of just three minutes, and many are over in less than one minute.
"Anytime someone is even contemplating cash bail, the rules require an ability-to-pay hearing, determining basically whether someone can afford the bail that's been assigned," says Taylor. "And we did not see that happening."
She adds that alternatives to bail, such as pretrial notification programs by text or phone, have been shown to more effective than cash bail at ensuring court appearances.
The ACLU's lawsuit asks that all defendants that the Commonwealth wants to detain before trial be given a full due-process hearing. Taylor believes that would help ensure that people aren't being jailed just because they can't afford bail.
"If you're very wealthy, cash bail should look very different than someone who's represented by the public defender," says Taylor. "You may be indigent, but you may be able to put $10 or $25, and that might be your cash bail. But it should be tied to someone's wealth."
She says everyone, from police to prosecutors to judges, has a responsibility to follow the rules at every step in criminal legal proceedings.
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South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month.
The U.S. Constitution gives all people accused of a crime the right to a lawyer. South Dakota is one of only two states where counties, not the state, have been responsible for providing public defenders for those who cannot afford to pay.
Neil Fulton, dean of the Knudson School of Law at the University of South Dakota and co-chair of the Indigent Legal Services Task Force, said costs added up for counties, and noted there are added challenges for people in rural counties seeking attorneys.
"The biggest challenge is just availability," Fulton observed. "And the geographic reach from where the lawyer is to where the client is."
Fulton predicted the bill will improve the quality of public defense. He hopes to see the new state office taking cases by the end of this year, following the creation of a Commission on Indigent Legal Services and hiring and training attorneys.
It is still undecided how the program will be funded long-term. Indigent defendants are expected to pay back the costs of their legal services.
Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, urged changes to the practice.
"We hope that there'll be future policy reform bills changing the way that the state is recouping the costs from those indigent defendants, many of which will never be able to pay off their debt," Chapman stressed.
The changes to the system are projected to cost the state $1.4 million annually, and save counties more than $1.5 million.
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A man from Dothan, Alabama, serving a life sentence for selling drugs received a presidential pardon, which sparked discussions about long sentences for marijuana-related offenses.
As President Joe Biden granted forgiveness to Earlie Deacon Barber, advocates for changing the current drug laws emphasized the need for broader reforms for marijuana-related charges.
Paul Armentano, deputy director of the advocacy group NORML, highlighted the significance of presidential pardons in the overall debate.
"It's an acknowledgment from the most powerful person in the land that we have moved on from these offenses," Armentano asserted. "We're forgiving these people for these offenses, and that this record should not be holding them back from future opportunities."
Barber's life sentence is set to expire April 20. Armentano pointed out a pardon still does not eliminate the challenges faced by people with criminal records in getting jobs and housing. Multiple states have changed their cannabis possession laws and state courts have expunged or sealed the records in more than 2 million marijuana-related cases.
Randall Woodfin, mayor of Birmingham, has pardoned more than 23,000 people with charges dating back to 1990. And he has appealed for stronger federal protections, such as changing the legal classification of cannabis to allow for greater access or fewer restrictions on its use.
Armentano agreed more could be done at the federal level to address the stigma and challenges.
"Because it's Congress that enacted marijuana prohibition, and at the end of the day, it needs to be Congress that has to enact policy to end marijuana prohibition at the federal level," Armentano urged.
He noted NORML advocate Chris Goldstein, a pardon recipient, recently discussed federal cannabis policies with Vice President Kamala Harris.
At present, 24 states allow nonmedical adult use of cannabis, but they are still at odds with federal law, which considers marijuana use illegal.
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Women are treated much differently than men by the criminal justice system, according to a new report detailing how and why mass incarceration is harmful to women in the U.S.
The report said nationwide, more than 190,000 women are behind bars, with the vast majority serving time in local jails.
Mike Wessler, communications director for the Prison Policy Initiative, said it includes about 29,000 women in Mississippi. He argued the system is particularly harsh toward women. One major challenge is receiving sufficient medical care.
"Women are frequently overdosed behind bars; they may have consumed drugs or alcohol at high level before they came to jail," Wessler noted. "And when they're there, the jails don't have the capacity to treat them. So, they often overdose or they detox without any assistance, and it costs them their lives."
Wessler pointed out about 82% of women who are entangled in the legal system are on probation or parole. The other 18% are in jail or prison. The Magnolia State has one of the higher incarceration rates, with more than 1,000 people per 100,000 residents behind bars.
Wessler emphasized around 58% of women who are incarcerated have minor children. Their families often cannot afford cash bail, which is one reason they are trapped in the legal system. Worse yet, he added, the women are typically the primary caregivers for their kids, which may cause their parental rights to be at risk.
"If you can't afford that, you're going to sit in jail until trial, and that can be months and months at a time, in which time you're likely to lose your job, lose your housing, lose custody of your children," Wessler outlined. "Women who are incarcerated don't make enough money to often pay that bail. The average bail in this country is about one year's salary for an incarcerated woman."
The report also echoed concerns about the stark racial disparities in locking people up. It said in Mississippi, white people are incarcerated at a rate of 386 per 100,000 residents. For Black people, the rate is 960.
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