Pretrial Reform

In domestic violence-related cases, the time between an individual’s arrest and the opportunity for a fair trial – the pretrial period – presents a system in dire need of reform. Pretrial release is currently determined by a defendant’s access to money, leaving those who can’t afford a cash bail to wait in prison, sometimes for months at a time. 

It’s imperative that we balance the need of protecting victims against the human right to the presumption of innocence. The current system, including cash bail, that informs this “balance” is imperfect at best, and racially and economically biased at worst.

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