Outrage! 31 judges face discipline for denying black defendants bail citing poor parenting

Judges in Harris County, Texas, have been directing magistrates to deny no-cash bail to many defendants for over a decade, according to an exhaustive report by the Houston Chronicle.

These no-bail instructions came to light when three Harris County magistrates faced disciplinary hearings. Criminal justice activists had long complained about the state of the bail system, saying that defendants were being denied their rights and their chance at freedom ahead of their trials, and this new report only proves their claims.

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According to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle, 31 district judges gave explicit instructions to courts that no-cash bond requests should be denied at initial court hearings. The judges also told magistrates that personal bonds should not be granted either, further cutting off any possibility of defendants being released.

One such judge, State District Judge Michael McSpadden, said that he didn’t want defendants to get released on bond and immediately be arrested again for some other offense. He also claimed that he was annoyed by the casual attitude that defendants had about court appearances.

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“The young black men—and it’s primarily young black men rather than young black women—charged with felony offenses, they’re not getting good advice from their parents,” he said. “Who do they get advice from? Rag-tag organizations like Black Lives Matter, which tell you, ‘Resist police,’ which is the worst thing in the world you could tell a young black man … They teach contempt for the police, for the whole justice system.”

This is yet another example of the way that the criminal justice system is steeped in discrimination.