Posted on June 23, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone Poverty and homelessness can often seem inescapable – and unfortunately, certain policies make it even harder for people to find a path to stability. As Matt Taibbi pointed out in an article for Rolling Stone, the bail system can be exceptionally harsh for poor and homeless defendants. Many low-income people are forced to serve time in jail before their court date because they are unable to pay several hundred dollars in bail, even if they only committed a minor offense or are not guilty. Jail is frightening and disheartening for anyone, but missing a few days of work or school can have devastating ramifications for people who are barely scraping by. For homeless New Yorkers, it could mean losing their shelter bed when they are released. This is one reason why the Coalition and other advocacy organizations have expressed concerns about “broken windows” policing, which tends to disproportionately affect poor people in an effort to crack down on minor violations. Reforming the bail system won’t solve poverty, but it will be one step toward justice for our most vulnerable neighbors. [Alexandra Bonacarti of New York County Defender Services] says the problem of people being jailed for the crime of not having enough money is something public defenders like her see regularly. “It happens all the time,” she says. “People have no idea.” In fact, her office caught another such case on the same day the Rivera incident was playing out. In that instance, two parents were arrested after allegedly leaving children unattended in a shelter in Harlem. Police say the adults left the children to go get food at a store. It’s a not insignificant accusation, but the charge — endangerment of the welfare of a child — is still only a misdemeanor. And the female defendant, who is nine months pregnant, had (and has) no criminal record. Neither did the male defendant. The District Attorney’s office didn’t even ask for bail, and defense lawyers felt sure that the judge was going to release both parents pending trial. Wrong. The judge asked for $500, for a woman weeks away from childbirth and broke enough to be living in a shelter. “I mean, if she had $500, she wouldn’t be living in a shelter,” says Bonacarti. Then Bonacarti added a refrain many defense lawyers repeat, when talking about bail for poor clients: “If you’re going to set bail at $500, you might as well make it a million. There’s no difference for this kind of person.”
