Bills to give Michigan judges the option of imposing cashless bail in some cases are scheduled to receive a committee hearing Tuesday morning.
The legislation would require courts to look at factors like a defendant’s risk for running away, causing harm, or not showing up to court when deciding whether to require cash bail.
It would not apply to individuals ineligible for bail under the state constitution.
Representative Stephanie Young (D-Detroit) sponsors the package. She said the current system of monetary bail creates inequality.
“You show up and you have $250 to post bail, and I show up and I don’t. I get locked up. And you go home. That makes no sense,” Young said.
It’s an argument advocates around the country have long made for getting rid of cash bail, which they say disproportionately impacts communities of color.
Last year, the City of Detroit began implementing its own pre-trial bail reforms as part of a lawsuit settlement with the ACLU. That lawsuit claimed the Detroit 36th District Court’s cash bail system was a violation of people’s constitutional right to equal protection under the law.
The bills are set to receive a hearing before the House Criminal Justice committee at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Committee Minority Vice Chair Graham Filler (R-Duplain Twp) opposes the legislation and said he plans to organize other Republicans against it as well.
That’s because Filler said the current bail system protects the public.
“When you tell criminals that there will not be consequences, fascinatingly enough, these people who do commit crimes, low level, or high level, tend to take advantage of that system,” Filler said.
He argued the bills would tie judges’ hands when defendants appear before them.
“They’re skewing it in favor of the individual who has committed and then being charged with a crime. Why are we doing that?” Filler said, blaming out-of-state interest groups for bringing up this issue in Michigan.
But Young said judges would still have discretion in cases.
“Everybody’s not being considered for this. I believe that the judges have the common sense that we voted them to have when people come before them,” Young said. “If a violent criminal is coming before them asking to be released, I hope that the judges have better sense than that.”
Still, Young and her package co-sponsors could face an uphill battle in trying to get the legislation through as the narrative around cashless bail remains in the air.
New York, which had previously approved a bail reform, rolled it back last year.
The Michigan bills could face both slim Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate, as well as likely Republican opposition.
Plus, time is running out in this year’s legislative session to push bills through. The bail reform bills had been waiting in committee without a hearing since May 2023.
