SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – The California Supreme Court has ruled that judges must consider suspects’ ability to pay when they set bail, essentially requiring that defendants be freed unless they are deemed too dangerous to be released awaiting trial.
The unanimous decision Thursday comes after voters in November rejected a state law that would have upended California’s cash bail system, and after months when a judicial order set bail at zero for lower-level offenses during the coronavirus pandemic.
The justices rejected arguments that the decision violates victims’ rights.
The state prosecutors’ association did not object, while chief probation officers say a wealth-based system discriminates against people of color.
