What is the Response of the Activists to the Increasing Failure to Appears As A Result of Simple Release Mechanisms Such as Person Bonds?


What has been the Response of the Activists to the Increasing Numbers of Failures to Appear as a Result of the Simple Release Measures that they Push?


There is a growing amount of data that now documents that the release measures pushed by the activists are damaging public safety.  In Texas, there is the Report of the Houston Police Officers Union that reviewed a weeks worth of data for the misdemeanor courts using almost all personal bonds and they found a failure to appear rate of over 75%.  To see more CLICK HERE.  Houston Court Watch complied two years worth of data using the same formulas and found an average failure to appear rate of over 83%.  To see more CLICK HERE.

Over time other states and issued reports that confirm these shocking numbers.  The Cook County Illinois Clerk issued a report saying that the failures to appear for individuals released on simple release were over 70%.  The Yolo County District attorney appeared on a podcast saying that California uses simple release for almost all misdemeanors and they have a failure to appear rate of almost 80%.

In light of this data, what has the response of the activists been?

First, the activists deny that there is a problem.  They say that these numbers cannot be correct.  In other words, they just brush them away as out of hand.

Second, the activists issue pseudo reports stating that crime is not increasing.  Before October of last year they would conclude that you did not have to believe their report, you could also rely on the FBI's statistics which showed crime was down.  However, in October of last year, the FBI statistics were updated to show crime increasing and they could no longer do that.

The newest tactic of the activists is to say we should only look at the failures to appear that are WILLFUL.  Their argument is that a defendant should not be held accountable for a stupid failure to appear.  Instead, they should be held accountable when they intentionally failed to appear with the intent to keep the court from being able to prosecute their case.  If you want more information about what the activists have to say on this issue CLICK HERE.

This is a complex subject that is difficult to unravel.  There will be more to say on this in the coming days.  To summarize some of the arguments:

1.    This is a well crafted attempt by the activists to further tie the hands of judges to take away their discretion so that their hands are tied.  This is intentional.

2.    The defendant has a 5th Amendment right to not be forced to testify against himself.  Willful is about intent.  If the court cannot force the defendant to disclose why he missed court, then the court will be forced to do nothing even if the failure to appear was willful.  

3.    Any failure to appear does the same damage to the court.  The case gets put on hold until the defendant returns.

4.    What happens if the defendant missed court and it was not willful, but then the defendant gets scared and runs?  Does it become willful?  The activists would likely argue no because they want the judge to have less discretion not more.

5.    The judge already has the discretion to address stupid failures to appear differently than willful ones.  A new charge can be filed regarding bail jumping.  This has an intent element.  How often is this charge filed in Texas?  If it is not filed often in your area, this will be how often you will be able to address any failure to appear.

6.    This is yet another attack on accountability.  If there is no accountability, there is no incentive to come to court.  If defendants do not come to court then failure to appear increase and backlogs as well.  The way to address backlogs is to dismiss cases.  When that is done, defendants see that as a green light to commit more crime.

7.    Texas passed a bill requiring judges to include in the final judgment of a criminal case whether there had been any failures to appear and whether they were willful.  This is creating chaos in many places.  There have been multiple incidents of reports of no failures to appear when in fact there were.  Also, courts are realizing that they cannot force the defendant to "confess" that a failure to appear was willful.  Some courts are just stating on the order "unable to determine if the FTA was willful.

8.    The ultimate irony is that this seems like an admission that the simple release systems like the use of more personal bonds that are being pushed by the activists come with increasing numbers of failure to appear.  Think about it; if they did not here would be no reason to focus on why we should limit the failures to appear to only the "willful ones" and punish the defendants only for those failure to appear (you know the ones that cannot be proven because they require information from the defendant that they cannot be compelled to give). 


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