Reporters, lawyers and activists gathered in the Hamilton County Public Defender’s office this week to learn more about the organization and get an insight into the issues with the Hamilton County criminal justice system. The biggest subject during the summit was Hamilton County’s bond system, and the nuances of pretrial release.
“Part of our growth as an office is realizing that we have a really important role in sharing our perspective as defense attorneys, because nobody else in that courtroom is going to have the same perspective, the same insight and knowledge about the case, about the person behind the case, and all the things that you don’t usually get to hear about the news,” said Angela Chang, director of the Youth Defense Division of the Hamilton County Public Defender’s office.
A “bond” is an agreement made by defendants in exchange for release from jail, on the condition that they will appear in court. Commonly, defendants use “cash bonds,” payments made to the judicial system, for release.
“There’s really four major purposes for bond: public safety, if they’re going to recommit the crime, the seriousness of the crime, and likelihood to appear in court,” said Dallas Guttman, team leader of the Hamilton County Public Defender Municipal Division.
Many counties utilize a “standard bond schedule,” which are predetermined bail amounts that can be used for defendants when a judge isn’t present.
In Hamilton County, according to the 2022 schedule list, a third or fourth degree misdemeanor has a $500 bond, while more serious crimes (sexual imposition, vehicular homicide, etc.) have a standard bond of $5,000, with additional review.
According to Guttman, these schedules disproportionately impact housing-insecure clients, or those suffering from mental health and addiction issues.
“They can’t get a hold of anyone to pay that $154 bond, say, then they’ll be arraigned the next day,” explained Guttman. She later shared the story of a client incapable of paying that amount. “I have a client in the Justice Center sitting over there right now, being held on a $154 bond, he’s been in there for two weeks,” Guttman said. “He doesn’t have anybody to call, he doesn’t have any way to get out, nobody to verify his address, he’s just sitting there on a bond that I could easily pay.”
Bail reform is a debated issue across Ohio.
In 2022, Ohioans overwhelming approved Issue 1, a constitutional amendment requiring Ohio courts to “consider public safety, including the seriousness of the offense, as well as a person’s criminal record, the likelihood a person will return to court, and any other factor the Ohio General Assembly may prescribe,” when setting bail. More than 77% of Ohioans voted to approve the amendment. But after oversights in the amendment led to drastic changes in the authority of courts to determine bail, the Ohio Senate approved emergency measures codifying the bail rules last year.
Robert Brown, National Director of Operations for the Bail Project, shared his story to help listeners understand the perspective of someone caught in the criminal justice system.
“To summarize our mission, it is to re-implement the presumption of innocence into the pretrial space,” Brown said.
Founded in 2017 by lawyer and social justice advocate Robin Steinberg, the Bail Project uses donations to provide free bail assistance for low-income Americans. The money is paid directly to the court, which then refunds it after the case is closed, allowing it to be reused for other cases by the project.
Based on data from the organization’s 2023 annual report, they have $13,886,621 in operating revenues. Of that, $7,391,871 comes from grants, and $5,554,518 from individual donations.
Beyond cash support, the project also helps with court notifications and transportation for defendants.
“What that is is our way of demonstrating the vehicle and the process that we believe is a more humane and a more equitable, and a more fair process than the existing two-tiered system of cash bail,” Brown said.
According to Brown, the Bail Project has paid bond for more than 550 clients who have returned to court over 94% of the time.
Brown spoke about the violence and desperation in prisons, and how cash bail puts people at risk of physical harm.
“If you’ve been in jail, you realize that, at times, it is a violent place. It’s depressing, and 40% of the jail deaths happen in the first week. The majority of the assaults that take place from residents — one to another, and from staff — happen in the first four days,” Brown said. “The fact that you weren’t released in that arraignment hearing means now you are probably in jail and exposed to all of those ills.”
“If me, or my family, or my network, doesn’t have the ability or resources to pay a cash bond, we are that much more vulnerable to the harm of unaffordable bail, because we can’t afford to have a contributing member of the household not here,” Brown added.
Brown concluded the summit by encouraging attendees to use their platforms and voices to speak out for imprisoned people.
“People in jail don’t have a voice,” Brown said. “For us that do, I would just say that we make evidence based decisions… look and observe, and see that the people coming through (court) are just regular people.”
This article appears in Oct 2, 2024 – Oct 15, 2043.