Recently our Executive Director, Lola Rainey, wrote a memo about Pima County’s new community bond fund initiative.

According to Rainey, “Pima County Superior Court judges and Tucson City Court magistrate’s are violating the constitutional rights of poor defendants by imposing bonds they cannot afford to pay. These defendants are disproportionately Black, Brown, Indigenous and/or members of other marginalized and vulnerable groups. Per Administrator Huckelberry’s August 24th memo to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, the latest proposal for a Pima County Bond Fund offers even further proof of the unchecked abuse of judicial power. According to the report written by Dean Brault, Director of the Pima County Public Defense Services (PDS), 700+ defendants were wrongfully caged by judges in 2017 alone. While the Tucson Second Chance Community Bail Fund (TSCCBF) welcomes the prospect of more people getting free, the reality is that this proposal is highly problematic.”

Download the memo to read the full response.