Detroit Evening Report, July 12, 2022: 36th District Court making changes to cash bail system
Starmanie Jackson holds her daughter Liberty.
Welcome to the Detroit Evening Report, a daily round-up of news that city residents need to know.
36th District Court in Detroit is undergoing changes to make the cash bail system more equitable for low-level offenders. Under an agreement reached with the ACLU of Michigan, the court will not set cash bail for people at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Starmanie Jackson of Detroit says her inability to pay a $700 cash bail upended her life.
“Unable to call-in to work … I lost my job at a nursing home because I could not pay my rent. We lost our home. It took me months to recover financially.”
Among other changes, everyone who is arraigned in the court will be provided counsel and an arrest warrant will not be issued for those who miss one hearing. Criminal justice reform advocates say they hope this program spreads to the rest of Michigan.
Other headlines for July 12, 2022:
- Lottery retailers in nearly every state are clustered in lower-income neighborhoods, study says
- Poll: 81% of Michigan residents support legislative term limits
- Time Magazine names Detroit as one of the world’s 50 greatest places in 2022
Photo credit: Russ McNamara/WDET
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