The Bail Post
What do we know about criminal justice reforms or bail reform? How do we evaluate whether reforms are helping or making the situation worse? How can we take politics out of criminal justice and focus on public safety? The Bail Post seeks to be a place where legislators and the public can educate themselves on a host of criminal justice/bail reform issues. With various attempts at criminal justice reform from New York to Texas to California, many people are confused as to what is working and what is not. With the passage of time, more and more data is coming to light over what successful reform looks like and what reforms have been found to not be working. The rise in violent crime across the country has been startling and law makers and the public alike are desperate to find legislation that is effective. Some might ask whether some of the reforms making the situation worse? The Bail Post is an on-going discussion that seeks to cut to the core to provide education on the various issues raised and to highlight what successful criminal justice reform looks like and what measures have been disastrous. Join us and educate yourself about the best practices that jurisdictions must implement to keep their communities safe, while ensuring fairness to defendants. As a someone said recently "Public safety is the foundation of a society. Without public safety we do not have a society."
If you would like to listen other episodes of The Bail Post you can find a subject matter index of the different episodes at- https://pbtx.blogspot.com/p/subject-index-to-bail-post-podcasts.html.
The host is Ken W. Good; an attorney in Tyler, Texas who has been licensed for over 30 years. He has argued cases before the Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Mr. Good has written a book on bail called "Goods On Bail." He has also has had numerous papers published on Criminal Justice Reform issues. Mr. Good is a board member of PBT and serves on the legislative committee. Mr. Good is married and has two daughters.
The Bail Post
Episode No. 16- How 10% Equals $25 Million with Representative Gene Newman
Several months ago, the Harris County Bail Bond Board adopted a new local rule that requires bondsmen to collect 10% of the face amount of certain bonds before the bond is posted. In the short span of several months there have been some significant and quick ramifications as a result of the board's actions.
On this episode join the discussion with our Guest Representative Gene Newman. Gene is the District 61 elected representative for the Mississippi House of Representatives. Gene also is a second generation bondsman with over 40 years experience. In addition, he has degrees in economics and criminal justice. Representative Newman also has an indepth knowledge of how bail works in Texas and has visited many bail bond board meetings over the years.
Find out why the Harris County sheriff recently asked for an additional $25 million from the commissioners to address what he called unsustainable jail overcrowding. Lina Hidalgo, who is the Harris County Judge, asked what was causing the "bottle neck." Listen to our podcast to find the answer.