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Prosecutors ask court to end Texas county's cash bail for misdemeanors
Source: Reuters
#U.S. AUGUST 9, 2017 / 6:09 PM / 21 MINUTES AGO
Prosecutors ask court to end Texas county's cash bail for misdemeanors
Jon Herskovitz
3 MIN READ
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Dozens of current and former state, county and federal prosecutors asked a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday to strike down a bail system in the most populous Texas county that requires cash bonds for misdemeanor defendants, saying it can destroy the lives of the poor.
Many U.S. states and counties have launched bail reforms to ensure people arrested for minor offenses are not held until their trial just because they are too poor to pay bond, especially if they do not pose an imminent risk to the public.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat, joined the amicus brief that challenges the bail procedures in the county where she works, which contains Houston and has a population exceeding 4 million people.
"Harris County's wealth-based bail system has for decades inflicted punishment on poor people before guilt has been proven, while releasing those with money into our communities even when the offenders were dangerous," Ogg said in a statement.
-snip-
Prosecutors ask court to end Texas county's cash bail for misdemeanors
Jon Herskovitz
3 MIN READ
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Dozens of current and former state, county and federal prosecutors asked a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday to strike down a bail system in the most populous Texas county that requires cash bonds for misdemeanor defendants, saying it can destroy the lives of the poor.
Many U.S. states and counties have launched bail reforms to ensure people arrested for minor offenses are not held until their trial just because they are too poor to pay bond, especially if they do not pose an imminent risk to the public.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat, joined the amicus brief that challenges the bail procedures in the county where she works, which contains Houston and has a population exceeding 4 million people.
"Harris County's wealth-based bail system has for decades inflicted punishment on poor people before guilt has been proven, while releasing those with money into our communities even when the offenders were dangerous," Ogg said in a statement.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-bail-idUSKBN1AP2OI