Opinion: The problem begins with the judges, not the bail bondsmen
By Hayden Black, Spring
Bail bond
Regarding “Editorial: Second time’s the charm? Harris County bail bond board should ban cheap bail.,” (April 13): I rarely agree with the Houston Chronicle’s editorials — in fact, I’m not sure I ever have — but I agree 100 percent with the editorial regarding a 10 percent minimum bail on bonds set by Harris County judges.
Every day I see multiple instances of defendants already out on bail being arrested again for another offense in the Chronicle and in Facebook posts of Constable Mark Herman’s Precinct 4 (my residence). Many of these feature violent career criminals. Providing less than 10 percent bail to violent repeat offenders does nothing to protect our community or ensure they show up for trial.
Bail bondsmen are only one part of the problem that needs to be fixed. The problem begins with “catch and release” judges setting low and no-cash bonds.
The 2018 midterm election resulted in 59 out of 60 Harris County Court judges being overthrown by Democrats. And that has resulted in a county criminal justice system that seems to believe “catch and release” is the way to go. These liberal judges are routinely setting $100 – $200 bonds and personal recognizance, (no-cash) bonds for misdemeanor defendants, including some who have been charged with violent crimes. While I would like to think that Harris County is safer than Cook County, Ill. , I’m not the least bit sure that is true.
So, it’s not just a problem with bail bondsmen. It’s a problem that begins with the presiding judge who sets bail.
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The Dallas County DA argued a judge’s impartiality could be questioned after she lowered a defendant’s bail while his defense lawyer is one of her top campaign contributors and then raised his bail after media reports about her rulings. Read & RT:
Dallas judge under scrutiny for bail rulings recuses herself from cases
Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero. A Dallas County judge who faced ...
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