No more $0 bail: Rule to slow coronavirus in California jails and courts is rescinded
California courts will soon no longer have to adhere to an emergency rule that suspended cash bail for suspected lower-level offenders, a temporary measure to help authorities slow the spread of coronavirus.
In a 17-2 vote Wednesday, the Judicial Council of California rescinded the emergency rule that set bail at $0 for people accused of lower-level crimes. The rule will no longer be in place as of June 20.
Those accused of violent felonies, offenses requiring sex offender registration, domestic violence, stalking or driving under the influence were not eligible for the no-cash bail. Even with this statewide mandate, law enforcement officials could petition a judge to raise or deny bail if there was concern for public safety.
Also on Wednesday, California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye rescinded her statewide order that extended time for defendants to be arraigned, according to a news release from the Judicial Council. That means defendants in custody will again have to be arraigned within 48 hours of their arrest.
The council could reinstate these emergency measures if health conditions worsen or change.
“The Judicial Council’s action better reflects the current needs of our state, which has different health concerns and restrictions county-to-county based on the threat posed by COVID-19,” Justice Marsha Slough, a Judicial Council member, said in the news release.
The state is in the middle of a phased reopening and local courts are resuming services for the public that were suspended as the coronavirus pandemic struck California.
The Judicial Council is urging local courts to continue to use the emergency COVID-19 bail schedules when necessary to protect the public’s health, court staff and those incarcerated. Slough said the council is asking local courts to report back by June 20 on whether they will keep the COVID-19 emergency bail schedule or another reduced bail schedule.
Cantil-Sakauye has said these emergency measures were needed to slow the spread of coronavirus, which causes the infectious respiratory disease COVID-19, in cell blocks and courtrooms.
The decision to temporarily end cash bail was a move that was heavily criticized by law enforcement officials in California. Some accused suspects were released from jail as they awaited criminal prosecution only to be arrested on suspicion of other crimes soon after.
California has jailed 21,700 fewer people – nearly one-third of its daily population – in county lockups since the new coronavirus hit the state. Prisons are holding about 5,500 fewer inmates than they did in late March.
Prison officials are expected to allow transfers of convicted inmates from jails in all 58 counties to state prisons by June 19, which will continue to reduce jail populations, according to the Judicial Council.
Cantil-Sakauye on Wednesday suspended a Judicial Council vote whether to end two emergency coronavirus-related court rules that, in April, put a hold on evictions and judicial foreclosures. The chief justice said in a news release the Governor’s Office and the California Legislature needs more time “to sort through various policy proposals” on evictions and foreclosures.
