By Matt Richardson | Fox News
Suspects awaiting trial in
California will now have their bail eliminated, according to a bill
signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday.
(Getty)
Suspects awaiting trial in California
will now have their bail eliminated, according to a bill signed by
Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday.
In lieu of bail, suspects will be gauged under a
risk-assessment system, although the details of the program, which will
take effect in October 2019, were not immediately clear.
Suspects looking at serious, violent felonies won’t be
eligible for release prior to trial but the majority of suspects
arrested for nonviolent misdemeanors will be let go within 12 hours of
being booked, according to the legislation.“Today, California reforms its bail system so that rich and poor alike are treated fairly,” Brown said in a statement, according to The Sacramento Bee.
Brown's signature gives the state's Judicial Council, the policy-making body for California's courts, broad authority to reshape pretrial detention policies.
Each county will use the council's framework as a basis to set its own procedures for deciding whom to release before trial, potentially creating a patchwork system based on where a suspect lives.
Senate Bill 10, the formal title of the legislation, was approved by the legislature earlier this month, according to The Sacramento Bee, but faced significant opposition from the bail industry prior to Brown's signing on Tuesday.