EDITORIAL: Eliminate bail for most misdemeanors

As rare as it may be, once in a while an issue emerges on which there is agreement across a broad swath of political thought, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy seems to have found one when it comes to bail reform. In this case the governor, a Democrat with credentials as a social liberal, seems to be on the same page with the ACLU as well as two conservative groups, the Yankee Institute for Public Policy and the California-based Reason Foundation.

Malloy would bar bail for most misdemeanors, except domestic violence cases and failures to appear in court. He says the bail system discriminates against the poor by keeping hundreds of defendants locked up on bails of $20,000 or less, while people with more money facing the same charges are able to post bail or pay a bondsman. Not surprisingly, most pre-trial detainees are minorities, something that the ACLU sees as “a blinking red light.”

State Sen. Len Fasano, of North Haven, the Republican leader in the Senate, is urging caution, however. He wants to wait for the report of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, which is studying bail issues here and in other states, a report that’s expected late this year. “Are we jumping the gun?” asked Fasano, who also represents Wallingford.

Fasano is right to want as much information as possible before taking action, but it’s also clear that the issue of bail reform has developed some momentum this year. Perhaps there can be some legislative action this year, as encouraged by the Yankee Institute and the Reason Foundation, with other changes waiting until 2017, when the Malloy administration intends to seek a state constitutional amendment.

“We have a very diverse and eclectic group on our commission, and I can safely say all points of view will be represented,” John Santa, the acting chairman of the sentencing commission, told a forum in Hartford Wednesday, as reported by The Connecticut Mirror.

So far, the bail industry has shown flexibility on this subject — or maybe it’s resignation.

“We have conceded that misdemeanor bonds can be given up in this proposal. We’re OK with that,” Andrew Bloom, a founder and former president of the Bail Agents of Connecticut Association, told The Mirror. After a pause, he added, “Not that we’re really OK with it.”

But the bail industry is big business — even in this small state, the system processed 151,763 defendants last year — and is probably hoping to forestall even-more-sweeping changes. And Bloom pointed out that the industry provides a service by searching for defendants who fail to appear.

For the record, those numbers are not huge. Of those 151,763 defendants, 8.77 percent failed to appear in court. Of the 28,911 defendants freed on surety bonds last year, 7.4 percent failed to appear.

The slogan “Equal Justice Under Law” is inscribed on the Supreme Court building, and it is a worthy goal. But since there are such vast differences in wealth among those who come before our courts, it seems only reasonable that justice should not depend on money to the extent that it now does.

If this is part of the governor’s “second chance society,” then let it proceed with all deliberate speed.