A Republican state senator from Northwest Georgia voted against a bill sponsored by a member of his own party that would mandate state judges order cash bail for more offenses before suspects could be released.
In a phone interview, state Sen. Colton Moore of Trenton said the legislature shouldn’t be telling judges how to make decisions on bail because judges get to hear the facts of a case from law enforcement and see the defendants in person.
“And ultimately, they (judges) ought to be the ones deciding bail,” Moore said in a phone interview. “Not this legislative body that doesn’t get to see the whole picture.”
Judges are elected and can be voted out if Georgians don’t like their decisions regarding bail, he said. Moore said he’s talked to several judges in Northwest Georgia, and they’re against what he calls “cookie cutter” bail requirements for more offenses.
Bonds are a tool in the criminal justice system, Moore said, but they’re not meant to be a punishment for people who are facing criminal charges.
The bill, Senate Bill 63, was brought forward by state Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula. Roberstson’s legislation would require more than 50 offenses be added to the list requiring a cash bond, including theft by taking; attempting to elude a police officer; purchase, possession, manufacture, distribution or sale of marijuana; battery; and voluntary manslaughter.
The bill’s opponents said cash bail unfairly impacts people too poor to pay, but Robertson said his legislation will let victims of crime know suspects have some “skin in the game” before they’re freed.
“What we don’t hear about is the expansion of rights and protections for the victims of crimes,” Robertson said as the bill was debated in the state Senate last month.
The bill passed 31-23 and is awaiting action by the state House of Representatives.
While the bill failed to win Moore’s support, fellow Northwest Georgia Republican Sens. Chuck Payne of Dalton and Chuck Hufstetler of Rome voted for it. Payne and Hufstetler could not be reached for comment before deadline.
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Rep. Mike Cameron, R-Rossville, said he agrees with what Robertson is intending in the bill and will vote for it if given the opportunity.
“Some people are getting released on own recognizance bonds for all kinds of different things, and this makes it more consistent,” he said in a phone interview. “I think we need to be a bit tougher, too.”
An own recognizance bond means someone accused of a crime is expected to return to court without posting a cash bond.
Opponents of Robertson’s bill said they’ve heard stories of people remaining in jail for days or weeks simply because they didn’t have the money or the bail was too low for a bail bondsman to secure the bond.
Especially in some of Georgia’s big cities, like Atlanta, Cameron said people are being freed pending trial despite serious charges, and those people often don’t return for their court appearance. Discretion for the judge is being taken out of the equation with the bill, he said, which helps create consistency in all communities across the state.
While he criticizes judges from big cities, Cameron said he thinks judges in Northwest Georgia are pretty consistent in how they approach bonding.
In Senate debate, Sen. Derek Mallow, D-Savannah, said being jailed for simple offenses like failure to appear, unlawful assembly and criminal trespassing could lead to a cycle in which people lose their jobs, housing and transportation. Requiring cash bond more frequently affects poor people unfairly, Mallow said, and that could lead to more crime by people trying to survive.
“I want the most violent people to be off our streets, but I want to make sure to give an opportunity for those who are poor and impoverished to have an opportunity to not have to spend an entire week or month in jail and lose everything they got,” Mallow said.
Opponents of the bill don’t consider crime victims, who are often poor themselves, Robertson said in floor debate. He also said lawmakers have passed laws that give felons and people on parole opportunities at a second chance after choosing crime.
The bill also would list domestic terrorism as a serious violent offense — which would make it eligible for harsher punishment. Mallow was one of several Democratic senators who were concerned the change could be used to punish people exercising their right to protest.
Sen. Josh McLauren, D-Sandy Springs, said in the floor debate that while Georgia law requires judges to consider the financial status of suspects when setting bail, there’s political pressure on judges to jail people, and the bill would force that option.
In September, Whitfield County’s chief magistrate judge, Chris Griffin, was the subject of a complaint filed with the Judicial Qualifications Commission by a bail bond company owner. The commission has oversight over Georgia judges and the power to sanction and remove judges in some circumstances.
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In an interview at the time, Chris Goulart, owner of Express Bail Bonding in Dalton, said he filed the complaint mainly because Griffin was giving low or no bonds, and that’s not serving victims of crime. Trust isn’t enough to make sure the accused return to court, he said.
Judicial disciplinary matters are only public if charges are filed, acting Commission Director Courtney Veal said in an email. She also said no charges have been filed against Griffin.
Griffin was not available for comment this week. He told the Chattanooga Times Free Press last year many people brought before him simply cannot pay a bondsman to get out of jail. Griffin said he understands bond companies are an important part of the justice system, but people being locked up in jail is punitive and punishment should happen only if those accused are convicted of a crime.
“I’m not here to put anybody (bonding companies) out of business, but I’m not here to create them business,” Griffin said. “I’m here to make sure people’s constitutional rights are protected.”
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.