Portside

The unforgiving reality of cash bail transforms “innocent until proven guilty” into “guilty until proven wealthy.”

“We don’t look at the crime. We are looking at predetention when you have not been convicted of a crime. We didn’t make the system. The system says, ‘You are innocent until proven guilty.’”

The blunt fact about the cash bail system in the US is that it creates a two-tier system of “justice” in which the presumption of innocence is denied to people who have not been convicted of anything but the “crime” of being poor.

Democrats likely to defeat Dem. Governor Hochul’s nomination of Hector LaSalle to be the state’s next chief judge, after progressives raised concern about his conservative judicial record and anti-abortion, anti-labor and anti-bail reform positions.

A community organization created a web tool that simply reminds people of their court dates. The impact is profound.

“Black, brown and poor white folks in prisons and jails are coming from communities where they are at greater risk for these social and environmental threats. Then they are being siphoned off, extracted, taken hostage and locked up in cages..."

A national movement stalled by backlash politics gets some new wind at its back.

2019 has seen an outpouring of local and state efforts to stem the tide of mass incarceration, from bail reform and mass bailouts, to efforts to close jails and legislation to divert people from lengthy prison sentences.

High-interest loan companies are using Utah’s small claims courts to arrest borrowers and take their bail money. Technically, the warrants are issued for missing court hearings. For many, that’s a distinction without a difference.

Kentucky Wants to Break Up with Mitch McConnell. La Bamba | Playing For Change. What If We Ended the Injustice of Bail? Boris Johnson: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. A Black Lady Sketch Show.