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By Michael J. Whitlock For the last several years we have been inundated with calls to end “cash bail”. We hear on the radio, national news programs, Op-eds, and legislative hearings. Only the wealthy can afford to post cash bail while poor people languish in jail. I agree, it’s a problem. It has particularly been a problem in my home state of Indiana. We have counties in the Hoosier state that set cash only bail or provide an option to post a cash deposit equal to a mere 10% of the stated bail amount. We have judges in Marion County setting cash bail as low as $500 for illegal possession of a firearm, sex offenses against children and stabbing. This is a problem. Every state in the country provides that someone charged with crime has the…

Michael J. Whitlock August 30, 2021 Another bill targeting the bail industry in California passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee last Thursday. SB 262 was passed without the “zero bail” language and next moves to the Assembly floor for a vote. A vote could take place as early as this week. Unfortunately, the remaining language in SB 262 should not only concern California’s bail agents but those seeking to purchase a bail bond in lieu of posting full cash with the court. If enacted, SB 262 will turn the bail system on its head. SB 262, if enacted, would require bail agents to refund 95% of the amount collected from the depositor if, 1) An action or proceeding against an arrestee is dismissed, 2) No charges are filed within 60 days of…

By Michael J. Whitlock June 5, 2020 Even prior to the tragic death of George Floyd while in police custody a was a movement to end the use of cash bail, probation, parole and close jails and prisons. In fact, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms moth-balled the Atlanta City jail in 2019. “We have taken another critical step forward in the march for criminal justice reform…”. There is a movement now to defund the police. It was reported June 3, 2020, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Officials were cutting as much as $150 Million from the LAPD budget. Members of the Minneapolis City Council are seeking to disband that city’s police department. Councilmember Steve Fletcher tweeted, “Several of us on the council are working on finding out what it would take to disband…

By Michael J. Whitlock June 23, 2020 The American Bail Agent Coalition (ABAC) is an extension of the American Bail Coalition (ABC). It brings agents and surety company representatives together for a common cause. ABAC will be holdings its 5th conference this week which will be held virtually (online) due to COVID-19. I get calls and texts almost everyday from bail agents across the country, many do not even write for American Surety Company, asking about the fate of the bail industry in the United States. Do we have a future? Should we look for other work? What’s going to happen with California and No on Prop 25? So, we when I see the registration numbers for the upcoming ABAC Virtual Conference, I’m shocked at how anemic are the numbers. Rarely does a day go by…

By Michael J. Whitlock November 5, 2020 It’s been a long hard slog these past two years as the bail industry worked to overturn SB10, enacted legislation that if put into effect, would have eliminated the use of bail in California. That effort was rewarded on Election Day when more than 6 million Californians voted no on Prop 25, the referendum to overturn SB10. Californians for Safer Communities was the engine behind Prop 25. All in, more than 10 million dollars was spent by the bail industry to preserve the right to bail in California. That seems like and is a lot of money but well short of the war chest held by those in favor of Prop 25. Ultimately, it was the people who were the real currency in this fight. They rejected the…

Michael J. Whitlock May 26, 2021 Another year and another slate of legislative measures attempting to reduce or eliminate the constitutional right to bail in lieu of either releasing offenders with no conditions for appearance or detaining them without bail. California, Delaware, Nevada and now Ohio have pending bills aimed at making it easier on criminal offenders. SB 182 was heard in the Ohio State Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday (click here to watch). The arguments made by the bill sponsors left me agog. SB 182 is a whopping 268 pages long. The sections pertaining to bail include the right to affordable bail, denies judicial discretion in setting bail and pushes for issuing a citation in lieu of arrest for most misdemeanor and several felony offenses. There seems to be little consideration or recognition of…

Michael J. Whitlock June 15, 2021 Early on in my upbringing, I would do something stupid, and my dad would give me a sideways look and sometimes a slap to the back of the head and ask “where is your #%$*ing common sense?” From that point on, I tried to limit making similar errors in judgment as I rolled through life to reasonable success. Criminal Justice reform efforts over the last several years have been less than nuanced, to say the least. Reformers have taken an all or nothing approach and where this has been successful, has caused a steady increase in crime across the nation; the dreaded “unintended consequences.” Alaska, New York, and Utah are three states who recently rolled back enacted bail reform after a meaningful increase in crime and…