RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA – A lawsuit has been filed by civil rights groups seeking to change the bail system in Riverside County, with its supporters calling for an end to the current cash bail system that they allege keeps those who can’t afford their bail for their release in dangerous conditions.
The lawsuit, according to Whittier Daily News, was filed on behalf of two inmates and Riverside County faith leaders, a reverend, and a rabbi. Civil Rights Corp, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that has worked on matters related to cash bail and pretrial detention throughout the country and Public Justice, an Oakland-based legal advocacy nonprofit, filed the suit along with a group of law firms.
The complaint lodged against the county cites a decision by the California Supreme Court in its argument that cash bail is unconstitutional. The 2021 decision ruled that it is unconstitutional for someone to be jailed due to their inability to pay bail alone and that less restrictive alternatives should be considered.
“These individuals are not detained because they are too dangerous to release: the government would release them right away if they could pay. They are detained simply because they are too poor to purchase their freedom,” the complaint reads, in part,
The lawsuit also references the condition of jails in Riverside County specifically, calling the conditions “dangerous” and citing the county’s number of in-custody deaths. In 2022, the Riverside County jail system had 22 in-custody deaths. The complaint argues that people arrested on suspicion of a crime “also have an equal protection and due process right to be free from what the California Supreme Court has termed ‘wealth-based detention.'”
The lawsuit states that while defendants are innocent until proven guilty, those jailed under the current bail system often suffer harms during the time they are locked up, like missing work and being separated from family. They can be in jail for up to six days before their arraignment.
The complaint also highlights that many of the same individuals that remain in jail due to their finances, cannot afford their own counsel, not getting a public defender until their arraignment. This they claim, can be days after the initial arrest. The complaint states that looking at a person’s flight risk or the danger they pose, rather than their access to money, should inform detention decisions.
The lawsuit is a class-action suit, with the two plaintiffs that are in jail seeking to represent a class of people who have been locked up before being arraigned “simply because they cannot pay their bail” and those who have been “systematically denied their right to a prompt hearing under Defendants’ policies.”
In response to the lawsuit that was filed on May 28th, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is named as a defendant in the complaint, along with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO), the Riverside County Superior Court and Riverside County, issued a statement voicing strong opposition to the suit and the idea of getting rid of cash bail.
“When Gavin Newsom implemented zero bail during COVID, it resulted in higher crime and more dangerous criminals roaming our communities. The voters overwhelmingly rejected prior zero bail schemes, and I will never support a zero-bail system that puts our residents at risk. If criminals don’t want to pay bail, I’d advise them to stop breaking the law,” he said in a statement.
A similar suit brought in Los Angeles County ended with a ruling that the county’s bail system was unconstitutional. As a result, a zero-bail policy was implemented in the county back in 2023, except for very serious, violent crimes. The policy has been controversial, with many cities in the county suing to end the policy. That lawsuit was ultimately rejected and after six months of the new policy, court officials reported that there had not been a spike in crime following the policy’s implementation.
