Lawmaker seeks to prevent software bias in defendants’ release

SACRAMENTO — With California’s move to end the cash bail system in limbo, Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) says he is looking for other ways to ensure courts are fair in determining whether criminal defendants are fit for release before trial.

On the first day of the 2019 legislative session, Hertzberg introduced a bill that would require the state to collect data and evaluate any so-called “risk assessment tools” already employed by as many as 49 counties across the state. The tools, or tech analyses, are used to evaluate people who have been arrested to determine whether, and under what conditions, they should be released.

But judges and court officials can insert data into the systems that can lead the software to draw improper, biased conclusions if not properly monitored, advocates say.

Hertzberg’s new proposal, Senate Bill 36, would require counties to report how they use the systems in an attempt to prevent that from happening.

It comes as the historic bail overhaul legislation he co-wrote with Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) could be put on hold because the bail industry has submitted more than enough signatures required for a statewide referendum on the law in 2020.

The new law, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in August, would require all counties to establish their own pretrial services agencies and use risk assessment tools. But criminal justice and civil rights groups argued the legislation provided little oversight to guard against “machine bias.” It was to go into effect in 2019.