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SAN FRANCISCO — Today, a bail-bond-industry-funded campaign turned in signatures in an effort to qualify a referendum for the November 2020 ballot asking voters to overturn Senate Bill 10, the recent bail reform legislation that would end commercial bail in California.
In response, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California Executive Director Abdi Soltani issued the following statement:
The ACLU will continue to vigorously support efforts that move California forward, advance racial justice and create a pretrial justice system wherein freedom from unnecessary detention is the norm.
We will never support any effort to keep the predatory bail industry in business and will not tolerate the indefensible harm it creates. For years, the bail industry has lined its pockets with money from individuals awaiting trial and families desperate to bring their loved ones home. By targeting people in dire circumstances, this $2 billion industry traps families, particularly Black and brown families, in insurmountable debt.
Make no mistake, the bail industry is not interested in equal justice or equal protection under the law, they are seeking to turn back the clock to protect their bottom line. Furthermore, any implicit or explicit suggestion that the ACLU stands with or supports the bail industry is patently false.
