Bail Reform in California - The Passage of AB2 (Assembly Bill 2) (From Pretrial Services Annual Journal, Volume 5, P 4-23, 1982, Elizabeth Gaynes, ed. - See NCJ-89690)

• NCJ Number: 89691
• Author(s): J Austin; E M Lemert
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche as NCJ-89690

Annotation

A discussion of Assembly Bill 2 (AB2), passed by the California Legislature in 1979 and allowing deposit bail in misdemeanor cases for 5 years, describes the history of the bill's passage and notes that AB2 has not greatly impacted California's pretrial release system.

Abstract

AB2's advocates claimed that the new law would create no additional costs for local government and would eliminate inequities inherent in the bail system. Opponents countered that costs now borne by the private bail system would have to be paid by taxpayers and that crime would increase as more criminals avoided prosecution and pretrial detention. AB2's 10-percent bail scheme does not make bail any easier to obtain but rather converts what historically was a premium retained by the bondsmen into a deposit of cash which is returned to the accused. If bail is forfeited, the State must collect it from the defendant. People instrumental in getting the bill passed included key legislators, the Governor's Secretary for Legal Affairs, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney. In addition, almost 40 groups supported the bill. Besides the bail bondsmen, opponents included the State Attorney General, the California Sheriffs' Association, the California Association of Police Chiefs, and other law enforcement groups. The bill was passed only after felony cases were removed from those eligible for the 10-percent bail. Data show that the 10-percent bail is being used infrequently but may be indirectly increasing the use of citation. Two tables and 39 footnotes are provided.