January 2020 / Pretrial
Creating a Needs-Based Pre-trial Release System: The False Dichotomy of Money Bail Versus Risk Assessment Tools
by UCLA School of Law
Proposal for a reenvisioned pretrial release process that upholds the presumption of innocence and provides support to those involved in the criminal justice system. Based on the premise that the presumption of innocence can only be protected through a presumption of release, and that the burden must be on prosecutors to meet an articulated standard regarding why someone should be detained. Advocates for the establishment of a new body, the community care and support agency (“CASA”), to provide support and resources to people pretrial instead of law enforcement supervision.