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Cash bail is arbitrary, destructive, and criminalizes poverty. Quite the indictment of our prosecutorial system. Who do you think said it? Somebody on the cutting edge of legal commentary, right? Ketanji Brown Jackson? Larry Tribe? No. It was John Fricking Oliver.
In a recent episode of Last Week Tonight, ATL Honorary JD Holder™ John Oliver gave an amazing critique of the cash bail system. One of the stories he highlighted was Marvin Mayfield’s experience of being held in Riker’s Island on bail without ever being charged with a crime.
This is, of course, nothing other than a tragedy. It is also quotidian. It turns out that about 74% of people in jail haven’t actually been convicted of a crime — many of them are simply there because they couldn’t afford bail.
Ending cash bail shouldn’t really be that difficult. It isn’t like it is standard practice — most other countries don’t do it and several states have already ended the practice. Unfortunately, the spectre of cash bail has become a new right-wing talking point that — surprise, surprise — has been awash with goofy “tough on crime” rhetoric and some dastardly racial outcomes. You’d think the Liberty people would be concerned with MOST people in prison being there without being accused of a crime, but no. They’re conflating doing away with cash bail with The Purge. No, this isn’t hyperbole.
I sure do hope that a couple of those prison inmates will be people who were put in jail because they couldn’t afford to pay out the arbitrary number some judge decided to hold them ransom for.
A reminder to our reader base: I know that many of you are making six figures and frequently talk to people who would complain about having to sell their second boat, but it is important to remember that over half of Americans cannot afford an unexpected thousand-dollar emergency. This judge’s arbitrary doubling of cash bond over being answered “Yeah” over “Yes” could mean the difference between someone seeing their children that night or sleeping in an orange jumpsuit.
Oh, and those racial outcomes I mentioned earlier?
I know that there is a general distrust of American news media, but come on. Even if you don’t trust NBC or CNN or whatever series of letters is trying to propagandize you, something must be wrong if this many comedians are going out of their way to draw attention to legal reform. I know that it is a heavy ask, but take a minute to goof off from your billables and watch Oliver, Esq.’s breakdown of bail reform. It’s a ballot issue and we could really use some informed voters at the moment.
Just in case something in your gut prevents you from learning about legal takes from a comedian, here’s a tweet I found from some legal guy on Twitter.
Bail Reform: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver [HBO]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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