New bail hearing procedures align with Memphis' goals of safety and justice | Opinion

We are an elected Shelby County General Sessions Judge and two civil rights attorneys.  We care deeply about ensuring that everyone in the Shelby County community is safe, regardless of the color of our skin, how much money we make, or where we live.

Lately, a number of politicians have suggested that new, fairer procedures being used to set bail in Shelby County present a threat to safety. This short-sightedness isn’t just wrong, it’s dangerous: we cannot afford to waste more time, money, and human suffering on schemes that have already failed. We need leaders who will invest in real solutions to prevent crime before it happens, not reactionary and misguided attacks. As one of the leaders who embraced sensible bail reform, and two of the attorneys who demanded change to the status quo, we stand by our new bail hearing room and wish to correct the record.

What the new bail hearing system actually does

First, an arrested person is interviewed in jail by an expert from the pretrial services department who receives individualized information about the person, their case, and their finances.

Second, a judicial officer screens the case to determine whether the arrested person can be safely released, or whether their case needs a closer look.

Third, if the person is not suitable for immediate release, they receive a hearing 2–3 days later with a prosecutor and defense attorney present. The judge has full discretion to make an individualized decision in every case, including to incarcerate the person on unaffordable bail, if necessary, to ensure public safety and the person’s future appearance in court.

This system was changed because our old way of doing things was wasteful, unfair, and violated federal and state law. Numerous local leaders, including former District Attorney Amy Weirich and Sheriff Bonner, embraced these reforms because they led to more transparent, informed decision-making that includes an opportunity for alleged victims to be heard and because these reforms should address some of the problems with overcrowding in our jail. Before opening the bail hearing room, arrested people and victims were not guaranteed an opportunity to be heard around bail whatsoever, and presumptively innocent people languished in jail for months or years.

More:Memphis teen accused in Huey's shootout never went through new bail-hearing process

Officials have duty to make change

When we make policy, it should be based on evidence, not fear.

But unfortunately, a number of politicians have scapegoated our evidence-based bail system because of a single case involving a shooting at Huey’s.

To be clear, the accused person did not re-offend while he was out on bond. Because of the Memphis Police Department’s slow investigation, he was picked up on delayed warrants while out on bond. A bail bondsman profited from his release.  Most of the public discussion on this is just plain wrong, and it is amazing that there has been no public attention on the bail bondsman who facilitated his release and profited by thousands of dollars in the process.

Bail bond companies are private, for-profit businesses mostly backed by insurance companies. They should have no determination in who does or does not get out of jail. Those are decisions that should be made within the criminal justice structure and legal requirements. Hopefully, in the future, the entire bail bond industry will be eliminated as it has been in many other states.

Throwing people in jail before they have been convicted of any crime is not just cruel, it’s counterproductive. Incarceration doesn’t make our communities safer (we’d be the safest country in the world if it did). Instead, pretrial jailing is linked with worse public safety outcomes. It’s not hard to imagine why: separating people from their families, eliminating their ability to hold down jobs, and subjecting them to abysmal living conditions are the precise factors that fuel future violence. Shelby County spends tens of millions of dollars a year on this failed enterprise.

Doubling down on punitive approaches, as the jail marks a grim milestone of forty deaths in four years, is a backwards and dangerous endeavor.

We do not have to choose between safety and justice: we can have both. And the new bail hearing room is a fantastic example of how those values can be brought into harmony. Our elected officials should stop the stoking of fears and start leading towards solutions that will keep us all safe.

Stella Yarbrough is legal director of the ACLU of Tennessee.

Andrea Woods is a staff attorney with the ACLU’s criminal law reform project.

Bill Anderson is a General Sessions Criminal Court judge as well as a judge of the Shelby County Veterans Court.