The original story, 2019
Amid statewide debate over SB 10 and the coming Proposition 25 referendum, Los Angeles County officials and the courts began examining how the county's bail schedule was applied — particularly to people held before arraignment solely because they could not pay a scheduled amount. That review took place against a background of critical reporting on pretrial detention costs and jail population pressure.
What happened next
- November 2020 — California voters rejected Proposition 25, so SB 10 never took effect and money bail remained state law.
- March 2021 — the California Supreme Court decided In re Humphrey, requiring courts to consider ability to pay and less restrictive alternatives before setting unaffordable bail.
- May 2023 — in litigation challenging LA County's use of the bail schedule for pre-arraignment detention, a Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction against holding arrestees on schedule amounts before arraignment in covered categories.
- October 1, 2023 — the Los Angeles Superior Court's Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols took effect, replacing the pre-arraignment bail schedule for many offenses with citation, book-and-release, or magistrate review.
What applies today
- Many lower-level arrests in LA County no longer involve a pre-arraignment bail amount at all.
- Serious and violent felonies, and defined excluded offenses, remain on the bail schedule.
- Once a case reaches arraignment, the judge sets bail or conditions under the Humphrey framework.
- Release without a bond is still release with a court date. Missing it is a separate crime — see PC 1320 vs PC 1320.5.