California could soon end money bail, but some of the criminal justice groups who worked toward that goal aren’t celebrating, reports the Los Angeles Times. A closely-watched bill to overhaul the state’s bail system advanced out of a key committee on Thursday with broad changes that would virtually eliminate the payment of money as a condition for release from jail. That should have been a roaring victory for legislators and supporters who have long decried a system that they say unfairly punishes the poor. The issue is that amendments hand over more control to local courts and probation offices to decide who should remain incarcerated, a move former sponsors of the legislation contend could lead to indefinite detention.
Bill author Sen. Bob Hertzberg hailed the measure, calling it a success years in the making. He pointed to support from Gov. Jerry Brown, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Democratic front-runner for governor Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. Hertzberg pushed back against criticism of the bill, saying it would dramatically transform a pretrial system that hurts poor defendants. “We have a form of pretrial detention now, it is called bail,” he said. “And guess what pretrial detention is? If you don’t have any money, you don’t get out.” Some bail reform advocates continue to support the bill, hoping to play a major role in implementation. Some sponsors dropped their support amid negotiations in recent weeks, and others are working to the kill the legislation. The American Civil Liberties Union, which has been working on the issue for years, moved on its position to neutral on Thursday.