Bail practices in Texas' biggest county under scrutiny

[Disir]

They are crimes. And DUIs or OWIs exist in the two states marijuana was legalized. Cocaine possession is a crime. That's the truth and you just don't like it. It's ok for you not to like it.

The laws are inconsistent because the change needs to occur at the federal level.

And the child selling lemonade doesn't have anything to do with bail. Your argument has nothing to do with bail. It's very emotional and very "feel-y".

Last, first: If a child is ticketed for selling lemonade without a permit and fails to appear in court for that ticket, that child would be arrested. And you are right, that has nothing to do with bail, because juveniles do not get bail.

Are DUIs and cocaine possession morally criminal? No. Just as selling lemonade is not morally criminal. They are laws written for the purpose of extorting and controlling the masses.

$10,000 is excessive for this mans bail. Even if he had priors. But you seem to think it is okay because "he's a criminal."

When do DUIs and cocaine possession become "morally" criminal for you? After they wreck? How about after they drive with their kids in the car? After 28 of them in a row? NNM, not interested in what you morally feel about the situation.

No, it isn't excessive if he had priors. It's based on history such as.......failing to appear, probation violations.

This guys attempts at moral relativism are sad and pathetic.
He's either an old hippy or a twenty something dimwit living in his parents basement.

It's all over the place and I don't think he understands how it works.

"...all over the place"? I replied to your assertions. If my replies are "...all over the place", you led us there. And if you don't think I know how "it works", educate me. Still waiting for you to tell me about your time before the legislature.

No, you have no idea what you are talking about. That's become very clear.

 

[Disir]

They are crimes. And DUIs or OWIs exist in the two states marijuana was legalized. Cocaine possession is a crime. That's the truth and you just don't like it. It's ok for you not to like it.

The laws are inconsistent because the change needs to occur at the federal level.

And the child selling lemonade doesn't have anything to do with bail. Your argument has nothing to do with bail. It's very emotional and very "feel-y".

Last, first: If a child is ticketed for selling lemonade without a permit and fails to appear in court for that ticket, that child would be arrested. And you are right, that has nothing to do with bail, because juveniles do not get bail.

Are DUIs and cocaine possession morally criminal? No. Just as selling lemonade is not morally criminal. They are laws written for the purpose of extorting and controlling the masses.

$10,000 is excessive for this mans bail. Even if he had priors. But you seem to think it is okay because "he's a criminal."

When do DUIs and cocaine possession become "morally" criminal for you? After they wreck? How about after they drive with their kids in the car? After 28 of them in a row? NNM, not interested in what you morally feel about the situation.

No, it isn't excessive if he had priors. It's based on history such as.......failing to appear, probation violations.

The #1 killer drug in the U.S. are prescription drugs handed out by doctors like candy.

Cocaine addiction is not a "crime - it is an illness and should be treated as such. And, arresting a person for DUI is not knowingly preventing an accident. The top 3 causes of automobile accidents are: 1. Distracted driving. 2. Speeding. 3. DUI.
Strangely enough, distracted driving and speeding do not carry near the same penalty as DUI. If you want to prevent accidents 1. take away peoples cellphones, outlaw car radios, do away with drive thru eateries and put people in jail for being distracted. 2. Put computers in cars that receive a signal from speed limit signs that will regulate the speed of the car. 3. Do not arrest people for DUI unless they have actually broken a law that shows they are not capable of driving safely.

What evidence do you have this man failed to appear or violated probation?

That he jumped from a $2,000 dollar for a level 3 felony of possession 1-4 grams of cocaine to a $10,000 bail. He was in jail for a total of 3 days and offered the line his rights were violated and you have to plead guilty. Between $2,000 and $10,000 something else occurred or alternatively the individual was being investigated for an additional charge within that incident that was far more serious.The misdemeanor bail is $500.

The point, which you are totally missing either unwittingly or intentionally, is that risk assessments should not take the place of any judge nor should they be utilized for any type of automatic release (or in determining releases from prison either). Harris county began using criteria set in a risk assessment (by the Arnold Foundation based on algorithms) in May of this last year. Get this....it means you do not interact with those arrested and it is based on prior court documents. Note, they have already been found to be unreliable.

When the first risk assessment did not get what was wanted another human interest story was thrown out there with continued grants from the MaCarthur foundation.

What they are seeking is what is called "free bail" decided by a "diagnostic" tool.

Personal bonds "free bail" which do take place are based on a person's criminal history and current charge. It is fantastically funny considering the organizations funding these are crying about what they deem as a cookie cutter approach at the same time they are implementing.......a cookie cutter approach.

I'm not interested in distracted driving.

But, I can address your issue:
On deaths (from overdosing) and has nothing to do with bail:
More people died from drug overdoses in 2014 than in any year on record. The majority of drug overdose deaths (more than six out of ten) involve an opioid.1 And since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription opioid pain relievers and heroin) nearly quadrupled.2 From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million people died from drug overdoses. 78 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.

We now know that overdoses from prescription opioid pain relievers are a driving factor in the 15-year increase in opioid overdose deaths. Since 1999, the amount of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. nearly quadrupled,2 yet there has not been an overall change in the amount of pain that Americans report.3,4 Deaths from prescription opioids—drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone—have also quadrupled since 1999.5
Understanding the Epidemic | Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center

• In 2014, 9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
• Of the 1,070 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2014, 209 (19%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
• Of the 209 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2014, over half (116) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.1
• In 2014, over 1.1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That's one percent of the 121 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.4
• Drugs other than alcohol (legal and illegal) are involved in about 16% of motor vehicle crashes.5
• Marijuana use is increasing6 and 13% of nighttime, weekend drivers have marijuana in their system.7
• Marijuana users were about 25% more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers with no evidence of marijuana use, however other factors – such as age and gender – may account for the increased crash risk among marijuana users.5

Drivers with prior driving while impaired (DWI) convictions:

• Drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes were seven times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers with no alcohol in their system. (7% and 1%, respectively).1

• 
  Impaired Driving: Get the Facts | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center
  

Paragraph one of your post - I am not interested in your assumptions.

Paragraph two - I have made no comments thus far concerning "risk assessments". However (if you want to go there) judges and prosecutors make risk assessments in considering bail or the amount of bail. There has been at least one case in which a judge was getting kick backs from a bonding company for putting higher bonds than were reasonable. THe reason for this judge sitting a $10,000 bail has not been made clear to me as I haven't taken the time to investigate the case. Have you?

Paragraph 6 - In your later paragraphs you became very interested in the lesser danger of DUIs, but you are not interested in the most deadly form of driving on U.S. highways?

Paragraphs 7, 8 - "78 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose."
How many of those people were jailed instead of given treatment before their demise? What percentage of those people die because their friends - or they themselves - are to afraid to call 911 for fear of going to jail?
Treating the sick with jail sentences will not stop their sickness.

The CDC report - Did you note the "references" at the end of the article? When an agenda needs filled find the references that most closely support that agenda.

Get an argument together and try again. This time, pull your head out long enough to address the primary issue.

 

[Buck111]

You bore me. Find somebody else to childishly insult.

 

[Disir]

You bore me. Find somebody else to childishly insult.

Fuck off. You're a blithering idiot.

 

[Buck111]

Awwww...somebody needs their diaper changed.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Our justice system and our bail system are inherently flawed and set up to favor the rich. Poor people get screwed by the system every single day. I have a buddy of mine who several years ago got arrested on a false allegation of domestic violence. His bail was set at $5,000 and he called his father who was able to post it for him so he was out of jail the next day. The day he arrived for his trial the DA dropped the charges because he said the woman who filed the complaint (a third party, not his wife) was not a credible witness.

My friend did not have the money back then to come up with the bail, but thankfully he came from a middle class family who could post it, otherwise he would have sat in jail until his hearing, which was several weeks later, where he likely would have ended up losing his job and possibly his apartment at the time and causing him all kinds of other financial issues for a long time to come. This, of course, doesn't even include all that time he would have had his liberty robbed from him. Poor people don't generally have that option. They can't come up with that kind of money nor do they typically know anyone who can.

We're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty in this country, yet you're treated like a guilty criminal from the time you're approached by the police. My buddy was completely innocent of the allegations, but could have potentially had his life ruined over it. It still took him 11 months to get that arrest scrubbed from his record. How many poor people have been ruined by our so called justice system who have been completely innocent?

Something needs to change.

 

[Disir]

Our justice system and our bail system are inherently flawed and set up to favor the rich. Poor people get screwed by the system every single day. I have a buddy of mine who several years ago got arrested on a false allegation of domestic violence. His bail was set at $5,000 and he called his father who was able to post it for him so he was out of jail the next day. The day he arrived for his trial the DA dropped the charges because he said the woman who filed the complaint (a third party, not his wife) was not a credible witness.

My friend did not have the money back then to come up with the bail, but thankfully he came from a middle class family who could post it, otherwise he would have sat in jail until his hearing, which was several weeks later, where he likely would have ended up losing his job and possibly his apartment at the time and causing him all kinds of other financial issues for a long time to come. This, of course, doesn't even include all that time he would have had his liberty robbed from him. Poor people don't generally have that option. They can't come up with that kind of money nor do they typically know anyone who can.

We're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty in this country, yet you're treated like a guilty criminal from the time you're approached by the police. My buddy was completely innocent of the allegations, but could have potentially had his life ruined over it. It still took him 11 months to get that arrest scrubbed from his record. How many poor people have been ruined by our so called justice system who have been completely innocent?

Something needs to change.

You are presenting an issue that cannot be resolved with a cookie cutter approach.

Domestic violence is a violent crime. Everybody knows someone caught in the system. That said, were there marks on the victim? There has to be something there. You can't just file a report and say so and so beat my BFF two days ago, last night or 20 minutes ago. Pictures are taken. There are chics that beat themselves up and say someone else did it. This has happened. There are instances of mutual combat.

Harris County uses an oncall DA before they transport to the county jail if memory serves correctly. The judges (in Harris County) have been opposed to altering the bail system because there will be less of an incentive to come back to court.

The information can be collected prior to stepping in front of the judge on the ability to pay. The criteria to release without bail can be set by the judges. There are alternative methods. But, for an organization to say, we made diagnostic tool that circumvents a set criteria and still didn't get what we wanted so we are going to make up another one to get what we want and throw an attempt at a human interest story is fantastic. And the same organization funding points to the success story of Chicago.........like nobody knows what is going down there and how well that has worked out.