In a Cash Bail System, Justice Depends on Your Bank Account
Ken Paxton is attacking Harris County's bail consent decree. If he succeeds, the county may need a new jail for the additional low-income defendants.
bail
Costly New Bail Bills Would Needlessly Jail More People
Texas politicians are wasting your money to punish the working class.
As COVID-19 Cases Surge, Some Incarcerated People Remain Behind Bars After Making Bail
Electronic monitoring companies refuse to touch coronavirus-positive inmates. That means they can’t go home.
Greg Abbott’s Power Grab on Bail Reform
Abbott’s executive order blocking jail releases during a pandemic highlights conservative opposition to the growing movement to end wealth-based detention in Texas.
Alec Karakatsanis on the ‘Usual Cruelty’ of the Criminal Justice System
In his book, Karakatsanis argues that lawyers and judges have become numb to the cruelties of the criminal justice system—and ultimately stand in the way of changing it.
‘A Watershed Moment’ for Bail Reform in Harris County
Advocates for criminal justice reform say this week’s settlement in Harris County’s bail lawsuit could reverberate far beyond Texas.
Texas Legislature Considers Bills to Break the Cycle of Debtor’s Prison
“It turns out that when you give someone reasonable financial demands, they actually try to meet the commitment instead of ignoring it as unpayable.”
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The Midterms Trigger a Seismic Shift in Harris County’s Courts
Among the Democrats who won all 59 judicial seats at play in the midterms: a socialist and 19 black women running on criminal justice reform.
Civil Rights Groups are Changing Bail Practices in Texas, One City at a Time
On Thursday, a federal judge ruled against Dallas County’s strict reliance on cash bail, saying it discriminates against poor people and violates their equal protection rights.
Videos of Dallas Bail Hearings Show Assembly-Line Justice in Action
Footage obtained by the Observer shows cursory bail hearings that routinely last fewer than 15 seconds.