DA Harrington Calls for Systematic Bail Reform
Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington joined more than 80 law enforcement leaders from across the nation this week in signing a legal filing that challenges the constitutionality of cash bail and calls for systematic reform.
The legal brief entered into the record Wednesday supports a U.S. District Court’s decision stating that detaining poor people before trial based solely on their inability to pay bail — while those who are able to pay go free — violates equal protection and due process rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The brief in Daves v. Dallas County, Texas, was written by Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and coordinated by Fair and Just Prosecution (see press release below). Also endorsing were Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, Vanita Gupta, former head of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, Walter Dellinger, former acting U.S. Solicitor General, and many others.
“Demanding sometimes large bail payments from low-level and low-risk offenders while jailing them before trial disproportionately penalizes low-income individuals,” DA Harrington said. “We can’t have a two-tiered justice system. That’s why I support implementing bail reform in Berkshire County, and why I added my name to this national reform effort.”
The present bail system has contributed to the U.S. incarcerating nearly 25 percent of the prisoners in the world, even though its population accounts for only about five percent.
DA Harrington has presented a more equitable approach. In addition to reforming bail, she wants to build a criminal justice system that diverts non-violent youthful offenders, veterans and those with substance abuse problems to prevention and treatment programs designed to help them and reduce recidivism, rather than just locking them up.
