Proposed pretrial release changes, prohibition of cash bail could be decided by Minnesota voters

When voters go to the polls in just over six months, the state’s constitutional offices will be on the ballot. So will all 201 legislative seats and maybe some county, city and school board positions.

Folks casting ballots on Nov. 3 might also fill in a circle related to the judiciary.

Heard on an informational basis Tuesday by the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee, a yet-to-be-introduced bill would ask voters: "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to prohibit monetary bail and provide for universal pretrial release for alleged criminal offenses that are nonviolent, not dangerous, or do not pose a serious risk of harm to a person or the judicial process?”

Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL-St. Paul) says her proposal would modernize the justice system while making it fair and effective.

“For too long people with wealth have been able to leverage cash bail to be able to buy their freedom,” she said, citing Michael Jackson and Jeffrey Epstein as examples. “… Furthermore, jailing people for minor and non-violent infractions wastes tax dollars on people who aren’t at risk to public safety.

“It also has collateral costs. When you jail a person who is the primary breadwinner for a family that means there is a ripple effect to our community. That family may now be applying for food stamps or childcare assistance or a whole number of different things because the person who is usually providing for them is now jailed before even being proven guilty.”

Reasons a person would not be eligible for pretrial release include a court determining a defendant charged with a detention-eligible offense is unlikely to return for future proceedings, is likely to violate a restraining or domestic abuse no-contact order or order for protection, would likely harm an identifiable person, and a less restrictive condition that reasonably mitigates risk does not exist.

Detention-eligible offenses are defined as those “that are violent, dangerous, or serious and pose a risk of serious harm to the safety of an identifiable person or the integrity of the judicial process.”

Joshua Page is a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota and a member of Pretrial Minnesota Justice. A study he was part of found that about 56% of people in Minnesota jails are held pretrial. “Black and American Indian Minnesotans are vastly over-represented in these populations.”

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said this should be a bipartisan proposal. “We’re talking about issues of liberty, freedom, talking about justice.”

He said the pretrial process should look more at what does the accused person need to get better along with risks and safety factors rather than having them be held in jail because they cannot afford to get out. “The U.S. Supreme Court and our laws in the State of Minnesota make it absolutely clear that what we should be thinking about in terms of pretrial release are two things: public safety and whether or not they will return to court.”

[MORE: Letters of support from Pretrial Justice Minnesota, Minnesota Freedom Fund and The Advocates for Human Rights]

House Republican Floor Leader Harry Niska (R-Ramsey) and Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) raised concern.

“Having some kind of financial skin in the game for that person to show up is important,” Niska said. “… The idea of public safety factors being used for public safety decisions has some merit. I think the prohibition on monetary bail is a mistake.”

Scott’s concerns include the lack of services, such as mental health, available for someone who is released.

“Unless there’s a place for them to get the help that they need, and it’s monitored, why in the world would we move to something like this? I understand some of them are getting out now, but this would open the floodgates more.”  

Jess Palyan, policy program manager at Violence Free Minnesota, said they want to come up with solutions other than just cash.