Los Angeles County returns to zero bail

In a controversial ruling in May, Los Angeles County finalized its zero-bail policy that prohibits requiring cash bail for nonviolent offenders. In another decision by the L.A. County court system this past July, an alternative to cash bail will go into effect Oct. 1 for defendants accused of misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies. 

The new alternative requires defendants to either be issued a citation and released or, in some cases, freed on specific conditions after a process of judicial review within 24 hours of arrest. 

However, the county has yet to make the zero-bail policy permanent. Both sides of the case have 60 days to propose alternatives, such as electronic monitoring or recognizance release, with the expectation that the individual will appear in court on their assigned date.

Judge Lawrence Riff, in a statement following his ruling, wrote that the cash bail system is a “clear, pervasive and serious constitutional violation.” 

This ruling was the result of a class-action lawsuit filed by multiple nonprofits and public interest law firms against numerous city departments — including the L.A. Police Department and the L.A. Sheriff’s Department. The suit claimed that the cash bail system disproportionately impacts low-income residents and communities of color, making it unconstitutional and a violation of human rights. 

Micah Moody, one of the attorneys representing the clients of the class action lawsuit, wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan that money bail fails to reduce crime, and research has shown that money bail increases the likelihood of future arrests. 

“Jailing people destabilizes their lives,” the statement read. “People who are in jail because they can’t pay money bail — even for just a day or two — miss work and are fired, miss paying rent and are evicted and miss picking their kids up from school. Money bail jeopardizes the work, housing and family that make our lives stable and makes people less likely to commit crimes.”

The LASD issued a statement confirming the new policy won’t apply to “violence, sexual offenses, domestic violence and offenses involving weapons,” or “repeat offenders.” 

Despite this, articles and social media posts have misled the public by falsely stating that violent offenders will be released at the expense of public safety. 

Taylor Perry, a senior majoring in public relations, said the USC community won’t be as deeply impacted by the ruling as residents of the surrounding communities.

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how it would impact students at USC given the fact that a lot of [the] USC campus is fairly affluent enough to pay for bail if needed,” Perry said. “It definitely will affect the surrounding community, though, that tends to be on the lower income side of the spectrum. It’s a good step in the right direction.”

Members of Public Justice, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization, also argue that cash bail creates detrimental issues for individuals being jailed, such as loss of employment, housing, and even custody of their children — even for minor offenses.

“The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Phillip Urquidi, Terilyn Goldson, Daniel Martinez, Arthur Lopez, Susana Perez, and Gerardo Campos, all of whom are in jail because, as they claim, they and their families could not afford to pay the arbitrary amounts dictated by the bail schedule,” the statement read. 

Nivea Krishnan, a senior majoring in public policy and economics, said the policy is a net positive.

“We’ll see fewer people having to be pre-incarcerated in jail, and I think it’s a net benefit to just ensure that they get due process,” Krishnan said. “Part of that is making sure people have their dignity and they don’t have their rights taken away from them before they’ve actually had a judge rule on their case.”

The zero-bail policy can be traced back to 2020 when L.A. County issued a revised bail schedule as a way of reducing the spread of coronavirus infections in pre-trial incarcerations. The revision eliminated the bail requirement for those accused of low-level offenses, infractions, misdemeanors and certain felony offenses. The policy expired July 1, 2022, but served as a stepping stone for advocates against the bail system, such as the Civil Rights Corps, a national civil rights organization challenging cash bail.