'Liberty should not depend on a person’s wealth.' Sham issue not about safety| Attorney

Timothy Young
·3 min read

Timothy Young has been the Ohio public defender since 2008, after serving as a county public defender for 14 years. He served as vice chair on the Criminal Justice Recodification Committee, and as a member of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission and the Task Force on Access to Justice.

Issue 1 requires courts to consider “public safety” when setting bail.

Don’t be fooled.

Courts already consider public safety by setting limits on the person’s behavior or holding potentially dangerous individuals in jail without bail.

The true goal of Issue 1 is to allow courts to set cash bail in amounts that unwealthy Ohioans cannot pay. That is why Ohioans should vote “no” on Issue 1.

A female inmate leans against her cell door.
A female inmate leans against her cell door.

As Chief Justice William Rehnquist reminded us: “In our society, liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or without trial is the carefully limited exception.”

More:Our view: Ohio's unfair bail system is akin to debtors' jail

People are presumed innocent and innocent people should not be held in jail unless they are dangerous. They certainly should not have to wait in jail just because they cannot afford cash bail. They should be able to keep their jobs and stay with their families.

Liberty should not depend on a person’s wealth.

More:What to know about Ohio Issue 1 on November 2022 ballot

Public safety is not achieved by setting high cash bail and just hoping a person cannot pay it. Public safety is achieved when a prosecutor proves to a judge that a person falls into a carefully limited definition of dangerous and should be detained pretrial. That is the law in Ohio today.

Instead, Issue 1 will create a false equivalency between money and morality. Just because a person is wealthy and can afford a high cash bail, does not make them a safe person. Just because a person does not have money to pay a high cash bail does not make them a dangerous person.

More:How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch

Public safety is achieved by addressing the specific case and specific person, imposing conditions relevant to that person and that case, and/or holding potentially dangerous people in jail without bail. Otherwise, dangerous people with wealth will throw money at the situation and be released right back into our communities.

Both the United States and Ohio constitutions prohibit excessive bail. A bail amount that is “higher than an amount reasonably calculated to” ensure the accused’s presence in court is “excessive.”

More:Yost: 'Fresh helping of injustice' served when violent criminals out on low bail reoffend

Amending our state constitution to allow courts to replace real, meaningful inquiries into public safety with high bail amounts does not insulate those bail amounts from being challenged as excessive.

Under Ohio's bail system, it costs taxpayers $65 per day to hold someone in jail, compared to $5 per day for supervised release.
Under Ohio's bail system, it costs taxpayers $65 per day to hold someone in jail, compared to $5 per day for supervised release.

Even if Issue 1 passes, it will still be unconstitutional to set cash bail just to keep a defendant in jail. Passing Issue 1 will result in more Ohioans litigating their bail and delayed justice for defendants and victims.

It is worth repeating that people affected by cash bail are legally innocent.

In Ohio, there are approximately 12,000 people sitting in jail pretrial, most of whom simply cannot afford their bail. Setting high cash bail infringes on the liberty of legally innocent Ohioans and punishes them because they have limited means.

More:Opinion: Ohio’s flawed justice system allows some to buy freedom, others to wait in jail

The presumption of innocence is a foundation to our entire system of criminal justice. If we start believing poor Ohioans are not presumed innocent and should be held in jail because they do not have money, the whole system falls apart.

Issue 1 creates a false sense of security. It will inevitably lead to wealthy defendants being released and poor people sitting in jails. Ohioans deserve better, we deserve real safety. Vote “no” on Issue 1.

Timothy Young has been the Ohio public defender since 2008, after serving as a county public defender for 14 years. He served as vice chair on the Criminal Justice Recodification Committee, and as a member of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission and the Task Force on Access to Justice.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: What is Issue 1 to amend Ohio constitution regarding bail?