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INCOME-BLIND JUSTICE >> Cash Bail Reform
Campaign Brief:
Eliminating Cash Bail
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Background
As a U.S. citizen, you are promised that should you be arrested, a judge won’t set excessive bail against you for no other reason than to simply hold you in jail. But is that how it plays out? If two people accused of the same crime have bail set at the same amount — say, $100,000 — the outcomes will be very different if one person can meet the demands of bail and the other cannot. The first person will be able to go home, return to work and prepare to defend themselves at trial. The second person will have to remain in jail until trial. That often means they will lose their job, could be evicted from their home, and may feel added pressure to plead guilty to their charges just to bring the experience to an end.
Recognizing this, many cities and states have taken a critical look at cash bail in recent years. Illinois completely eliminated cash bail in 2023, and New York and California have significantly curtailed the practice. In Michigan, criminal justice reform advocates including the ACLU of Michigan and the Bail Project sued Wayne County and ultimately reached a five-year agreement in 2022 with the 36th District Court in Detroit to curtail the use of cash bail so that it will only be used to detain someone if a judge believes the person is a risk to public safety or is a flight risk.
Statistics show reforming cash bail in Detroit has not led to an increase in crime. Between 2022 and 2023, which represents the first year that the 36th District Court entered into its bail reform agreement, homicides fell 18 percent. The same year, shootings fell 15 percent and carjackings dropped 33 percent.
Similar trends are seen elsewhere, too. For instance, homicide rates in the 49 California cities that the FBI tracks have fallen 14.9 percent between 2022 and 2024, while robbery rates have fallen 13.9 percent over the same time.
Even so, these reforms remain controversial among detractors, who continue to blame crime on bail reform.
Vision
Cash bail divides people in the justice system between people who have money in the bank and people who do not. Those who have enough cash can meet the demands of bail and go home to prepare for trial. Those who don’t have to stay in jail, which often means losing a job and getting evicted. Often, a person will choose to plead guilty as part of a plea deal so they can go home, rather than holding out longer for a trial where they can argue their innocence.
The current agreement between the 36th District Court in Detroit and criminal justice reform advocates shows us that bail reform works and isn’t a threat to public safety. We should learn from their success and take their example statewide. That way, all Michiganders can know that when they stand before a judge, the outcome won’t depend on the size of their bank account.
Solution
It’s time to bring meaningful bail reform to Michigan. We can build on the cash bail reform agreement that already exists in the 36th District Court in Detroit, which shows we don’t need to compromise between economic equality for people before the court and public safety.
We support a package of legislation that would limit judicial discretion to impose bail in low-level cases, which are unlikely to result in jail or prison time but preserve judicial discretion in cases involving more serious charges. We do not believe bail is the best tool for preventative detention, but the Michigan State Constitution gives defendants a right to bail in most cases, so judicial discretion to impose bail in more serious cases is defensible policy until the Constitution is amended.
