Houston bail system unconstitutional, punishes the poor and favors the wealthy

A federal judge has found that Houston's bail system is unconstitutional, according to the Houston Press.

U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal issued her decision in a sweeping 193-page ruling, finding that the plaintiffs had a high chance of proving at trial that the county's bail system is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs—Civil Rights Corps, Texas Fair Defense Project and Houston law firm Susman Godfrey, representing all indigent misdemeanor defendants—had charged that Harris County's bail system punishes the poor and favors the wealthy because bail hearing officers fail to consider people's ability to pay bail, as the Constitution requires. Instead, plaintiffs claimed, they set bail based on an arbitrary bail schedule and often ignored recommendations to release non-violent people on personal bonds.

"Misdemeanor arrestees are often...people 'living on the edge at the point in their lives that intersects with getting involved in an arrest,'" Judge Rosenthal wrote in closing. "In Harris County, they may be homeless. They may lack family, friends, and [people in their lives willing to bail them out]. Some are, no doubt, of bad reputation and present a risk of nonappearance or of new criminal activity. But they are not without constitutional rights to due process and the equal protection of the law."

Here's how the new system will work under the preliminary injunction: Rosenthal has ordered that Harris County will be required to interview all misdemeanor arrestees about their financial conditions at the Houston jail and Harris County Jail. At the very first probable cause and bail hearing, if the person is eligible for release (i.e., has no other holds, isn’t charged with domestic violence or needing to undergo a mental competency exam), they are required to be released on unsecured money bond if they haven’t already bailed out the normal way. The difference is, normally to bail out, people have to pay up front; now, they’ll only have to pay if they don’t show up for court.

Judges can also order supervision tools such as GPS monitoring or drug testing if necessary. If the first hearing doesn’t happen within 24 hours of arrest, then the sheriff is required to release people from jail on a personal bond without any upfront payment.

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