BAIL REFORM AND PRE-TRIAL JUSTICE
In America, freedom before trial shouldn’t depend on your bank account. But today, thousands of people sit in jail—not because they’ve been convicted of anything—but because they can’t afford bail. Poverty is not a crime, and pretrial detention should be based on risk, not wealth.
THE PROBLEM
Cash bail creates a two-tier justice system:
- If you’re wealthy and dangerous, you can buy your way out.
- If you’re poor and nonviolent, you can sit in a cell for months—or plead guilty just to get out.
- Pretrial detention increases job loss, housing instability, family separation, and future conviction risk. It punishes people before they’ve even seen a courtroom and costs taxpayers billions annually.
OUR PLAN FOR PRE-TRIAL JUSTICE
We will replace wealth-based detention with a public safety-based system:
Eliminate Cash Bail for Low-Risk Defendants — Use validated risk assessments, not wallet checks.
Rapid Release Hearings — Every arrested individual receives a timely review to prevent unnecessary detention.
Designated Community Pretrial Support Services — Text reminders, check-ins, and transportation support instead of jail walls.
Transparency in Detention Data — Every county must publish who is held pretrial and why — searchable by charge, race, and income.
Mandatory Judicial Review for Detention Over 72 Hours — If someone is held longer, judges must justify it in writing with public reasoning.
WHAT THIS ACHIEVES
Reduces overcrowding and taxpayer costs
Keeps jobs, housing, and families intact while cases proceed
Ensures detention is used for public safety, not poverty punishment
“If freedom is a product you can buy, then justice is already for sale.”