Lawsuit Launched Over Secret Bail Hearings In Texas

in #politics6 years ago

The government is all about transparency, and they've got the spying tools to prove it; except for when it comes to their own actions.

Shining a light on their wrongdoings often isn't welcome by those who claim to be “serving” us. And In Dallas County, Texas, a lawsuit has recently been launched over accusations relating to their secret bail hearings in the region.

Those who are less financial fortunate in the region are claiming that the county bail system is unconstitutional and discriminatory against them.

There are claims that prior to bail hearings, jailers have been informed that the price could dramatically increase if they are caught speaking without permission. As well, that these bail hearings--which only last a few seconds on average--are conducted mostly in secret.

This means that family members, activists, journalists, or attorneys etc, would not be allowed to witness the proceedings.

Does this sound like it promotes the safety and well-being of those who are there for a bail hearing? Because that's alleged to be the justification.

Defendants are arguing that it's unconstitutional and discriminatory because the system is holding them, while others who can afford to pay are set free.

For those who can't afford to pay for their freedom they're left in a cage. And the plaintiffs in the case say that the state isn't considering their financial ability to make the payment.

Critics of the bail system also suggest that for those who cannot afford to pay for their freedom, that perhaps rather than leaving them in solitary confinement or prison etc, that they be given an ankle monitor or some other solution that might ensure they show up for their court date?

For those who cannot afford to pay their way out of jail, they also suffer a variety of other consequences.

While they are behind bars, this can often cause them to lose their job or place of residence; among other concerns. They're also much more likely to plead guilty. And many offenders who are deemed “low risk” are being held at the expense of taxpayers because they can't immediately afford bond. Perhaps prisons wouldn't be so overcrowded if this wasn't the case, and if there weren't so many being held for victimless crimes.

Secret bail hearings aren't the only issue in the region. Dallas County officers have also previously come under fire for their alleged mishandling of roughly 70 percent of probation violations, according to a state audit.

It's estimated that 2 out of 3 times, probation officers neglected to follow proper department procedure. And those aren't the only occasions that their inefficiencies have been brought to light.

In the lawsuit against the county, attorneys allege that by conducting the secret bail hearings that it's preventing community members from exercising their First Amendment rights.

They want the hearings to be open so they can get a better idea of the violations that might be taking place.

And not that long ago, a federal appeals court determined that it was unconstitutional to be leaving people in jail who had been charged with non-violent offenses, because they cannot afford bail. Perhaps Dallas County will be the next region, among many, to see reform in this area.

Pics:
Pixabay
pixabay
Marco Torres via Houston Press

Sources:
https://www.texasobserver.org/bail-lawsuit-accues-dallas-county-violating-poor-peoples-rights/
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2014/05/18/dallas-county-officers-mishandled-70-of-probation-violations-initial-state-audit-finds
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/01/22/following-harris-county-ruling-poor-inmates-sue-dallas-county-over-bai/
http://www.houstonpress.com/news/federal-judge-says-harris-county-bail-system-is-unfair-to-poor-defendants-9397124

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A great start would be to not jail people for victimless crimes. There are so many levels of deceit and corruption that few see as one hand feeds the other behind closed doors. I have been to the court where the courtroom was locked so there would be no witnesses to what happened in there. That, in and of itself, raises a huge flag. Hopefully we are evolving and realizing the mess we have set up for ourselves, and finding powerful insight on how to make it better.

Thanks for the post @doitvoluntarily.

that would be a good place to start 👍

Critics of the bail system also suggest that for those who cannot afford to pay their bail, that perhaps instead of leaving them in solitary confinement or prison, etc., they be given an ankle monitor or some other solution to ensure that they do. your court date?

there are so many possible measures... but they are simply not interested, from there we begin to notice that the balance is not always balanced... everywhere you notice that the privileged is the one who has money :(

Hi doitvoluntarily,

Goes back to those who have money suffers less in this society. If you are poor, you are screwed every aspect of your life.
What is the solution? Make sure I have plenty money, the right kind of money in my crypto account, not a fiat currency....lol

사진 촬영은 훌륭했습니다. @doitvoluntarily

I'm now muting you. There are ways to report comment spam and this is just noise.

Not to mention he commented 9 times in the last 4 days. This kind of low volume commenting could be responded to by members of the community first.

Hi @patrice OVER $2,000 SBD WEEK IN ABUSE - I was wondering why have you not tried to stop @ grumpycat and @ madpuppy they have self upvoted in the last week for a total of 2,206 SBD? This is a MASSIVE abuse, I mean I see that you go after a lot of abusers but I can not for the life of me understand how you can stand for this. @ grumpycat got all his steem power from abusing the reward pool in the beginning of this platform by self-commenting to the tune of over $125 per comment. He got away with this for years, once he got caught which was a couple months ago he decided to become a dictator and attack many minnows who are just trying to get noticed on steemit. I really would love to know why you and your team have not addressed this issue?

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A @ GRUMPYCAT SELF UPVOTE OF $19.91 - ITS JUST A PICTURE, he does this to the tune of over $2,000 SBD a week between his 2 accounts. You have the power to shut him down, why haven't you? Instead of going after 100 minnows you could have the same effect if not more by just going after the accounts that massively abuse this platform. Another is @ chbartist who with no regard to the platform abuses bid bots LIKE NO OTHER! I respect what you do for STEEMIT and I truly hope that you and your team address the SELF UPVOTING ABUSE by @ grumpycat and @ madpuppy

** I ONLY USED A BID BOT ON THIS COMMENT BECAUSE MY NEGATIVE ACCOUNT RATING MADE IT INVISIBLE.

You got a 8.99% upvote from @emperorofnaps courtesy of @uknowjpbitcoin!

Want to promote your posts too? Send 0.05+ SBD or STEEM to @emperorofnaps to receive a share of a full upvote every 2.4 hours...Then go relax and take a nap!

I found his bullshit 27 times on my post.
After warning him and he continued...I flagged him
I took him from a 37 rep to a 17.
I will continue to do so everytime I find his shit anywhere on steemit.

Why don't YOU do something about it. Instead of just sitting there twiddling your thumbs. You are part of STEEMCLEANERS. You guys should be stopping these kind of people. And PEOPLE LIKE HAEJIN!!!

He is not talking about the photos in this content sir....the content is more valuable than the photos that are not even his original capture, I dont think, any way....

thank you resteem

Every time I think I just figured out how deep this corruption goes, I learn something new. Emerging technologies can be a solution for this as well. Getting them to adopt those solutions are entirely other matter.

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