Eyewitness to History at LA’s Cash Bail Hearings
By Karen Ocamb
After a months-long evidentiary hearing that began back in March, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff issued a scathing 58-page ruling granting our motion to stop Los Angeles County’s current cash bail enforcement practices until our case is decided. Critically, the court recognized that the evidence overwhelmingly shows that the cash bail makes communities less safe, fails to help people who are arrested appear for their court dates, and serves no public interest at all.
History here is subtle. The Los Angeles Superior Court building holds decades of fear, suffering, hope, and stark Covid-era reminders that justice delayed is justice denied.
Public Justice is here this March 22, 2023 hoping to make history, too, arguing for an urgent preliminary injunction in our class action lawsuit, Phillip Urquidi vs. City of Los Angeles, et al. It’s the first-ever evidentiary hearing exposing the constitutional violations of LA’s mandated cash bail jail schedule, and it signals that justice may finally come for our six plaintiffs and the thousands of others arrested and held captive for two to five days without charge. It is inherently unfair that presumed innocent people risk ruination simply because they can’t afford to pay for their freedom.
Interestingly, though the Department 7 courtroom is a legal battlefield, the opponents are respectful, almost collegial. Brad Brian, Rowley Rice, and Tiana Baheri of Munger, Tolles & Olson (MTO), and Salil Dudani, Jeff Stein, and Alec Karakatsanis of Civil Rights Corps (CRC) are Public Justice’s partners on behalf of the plaintiffs, along with Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai. LA County’s attorney Dmitri Portnoi (of O’Melveny and Myers) and LA City Attorney Gabriel Dermer represent the defendants.
I sit with Brian Hardingham, Senior Attorney for our Debtors’ Prison Project (DPP) while DPP Director Leslie Bailey sits with Micah Clark Moody, CRC’s Litigation Support Fellow and our legal coalition’s ambassador. Dignity and Power Now’s Ambrose Brooks and a handful of JusticeLA coalition allies also attend that first day.
In opening remarks, Judge Lawrence P. Riff emphasizes that “everybody agrees this case raises important interests of justice, fairness, and frankly, human dignity.” He quotes an LA County attorney: “The County wholeheartedly supports Plaintiffs’ contention the wealth-based bail schedule…is completely unacceptable.”
So, the judge asks, “Why are we in court?”
For weeks, Salil and the other attorneys on the plaintiffs’ team brilliantly answer that question. There is little opposition from the defense.
My epiphany comes when Public Justice’s Brian Hardingham questions expert Dr. Christine Scott-Hayward about academic studies on bail and public safety. “And given [the] findings, is it correct to conclude that pretrial detention of over 24 hours is itself criminogenic?” Brian asks. “Yes, that’s my opinion,” says Dr. Scott-Hayward, agreeing that pretrial detention increases the risk to community safety.
This word criminogenic flips the script from bail being commonly thought of as an incentive to meet your court date and a way to protect public safety.
The judge asks Dr. Paul Heaton, another court-appointed expert, “What does the word criminogenic mean?” Dr. Heaton replies, “It means tending to cause crime.” Empirical evidence indicates that pretrial detention is criminogenic.
After closing arguments on May 9, we hold our breath and wait.
Then, on May 16 — history. Persuaded by “uncontroverted evidence,” the court finds that the plaintiffs have “clearly shown that the constitutional harm to the putative class is extreme. It is pervasive in that each year it likely affects tens of thousands of impoverished persons detained solely because they are poor.”
The 60-day preliminary injunction returns LA to the Covid-era zero cash bail policy while a permanent solution is sought and hope is parlayed into reality.
Karen Ocamb is the Senior Storytelling Strategist for Public Justice.
