News

Lawsuit Against Income-based Bail System Hits Roadblock

Published

10 years ago

February 1, 2016

A federal judge ruled this week against a class action lawsuit to overturn San Francisco’s bail bond system because –typical of bail systems throughout the country – it keeps people awaiting trial in jail simply because they do not have money.

While federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said the lawsuit’s concerns about the inequities of the bail bond system might have merit, decisions on bail are made by Superior Court judges, who are state officials. And states generally can’t be sued without the state consenting, which California has not granted in this case.

Judge Gonzalez, speaking at the court hearing Tuesday in Oakland, there is “no preliminary injunction this court can order. I understand the big picture, you may have something here, but you have not articulated it… There needs to be a legal avenue to get there.”

She gave the plaintiffs a month to submit another written motion.

The lawsuit is centered on Riana Buffin, 19, and Crystal Patterson, 29. Both were arrested in San Francisco for felony charges in October and were told by officials they could leave jail if they could post bail.

Buffin worked at the Oakland International Airport, supporting her family with her income. Because she was not able to afford 10 percent of $30,000, he stayed in jail and lost her job.

Patterson’s bond was set at $150,000. She went to a bail bond company, and with help from friends was able to gather $1,500 upfront and agreed to later pay $15,000 in full with interest.

Both cases were not pursued by the District Attorney, yet Patterson is still liable for $15,000 to the bail bond company. Had Patterson been able to afford the entire $150,000 upfront, she would have received her money back after all court appearances.

The lawsuit was filed by the organization Equal Justice Under the Law, which has also filed eight other cases like this throughout the US.

“We’re asking for an injunction against San Francisco for using cash bail,” said Phil Telfeyan, founder of the organization.

Cities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, have reformed their bail laws due the lawsuits. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi has held the use of money bail violates the Equal Protection Clause.

“All of the nine lawsuits we’ve filed dealing with this bail issue are based on the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. So it’s front and center in all of these lawsuits,” said Telfeyan.

The Constitution states: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Telfeyan argues that holding people who cannot pay bail is unconstitutional, “San Francisco has a wealth based detention system. All arrestees are free to leave the jail as long as they can pay for it. It’s sort of pay for freedom scheme that obviously benefits the wealthy.”

If someone is charged with a federal crime, a federal judge will look at flight risk, and potential threat to the community to determine whether someone can be released. But on the state level, the decision is solely based on whether or not someone can afford bail, said Telfeyan.

Ross Mirkarimi, former Sheriff of San Francisco, endorsed the lawsuit. In an affidavit, he said, “I agree that the use of monetary conditions to detain pretrial defendants penalizes indigent arrestees solely based on their wealth status. The notion that someone’s freedom depends on the amount of money they have is anathema to equality and justice.”

According to Telfeyan, Mirkarimi estimates that it costs around $60,000 a year to incarcerate someone, while pretrial supervision only costs as little as two to three thousand dollars per year.

“Pretrial service agencies are able to get anywhere from 90 percent to virtually 100 percent of people to court by things like text messages, or a phone call. And these statistics are from people who never post bail,” said Telfeyan.

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Arts and Culture

COMMENTARY: Black Music is the Sound of Black Freedom: Let Us Reclaim Both This Juneteenth

Black Music Month started when Black Music Association members Ed Wright, Kenny Gamble and his wife, journalist and radio host Dyanna Williams were able to persuade President Jimmy Carter to establish the observation on June 7, 1979.

Published

1 day ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Robert Johnson (1911-1938) is thought of as the godfather of blues music, especially Delta blues. The 29 songs recorded by him during his short life have been of massive inspiration to guitarists and musicians over the last 80 years. Public domain photo.

By Wanda Ravernell

Black Music Month and Juneteenth are inextricably linked – Black music is the sound of our freedom.

From the plaintive moans of the enslaved Africans’ ‘sorrow songs,’ to the fields of Civil War battle where Black soldiers picked up abandoned bugles, to the upright piano played in juke joints on Saturday night and churches come Sunday morning, our ancestors’ innovation in the face of want, fear, degradation, and hopelessness has yielded genres of music imitated ’round the world.

In 2000, Congress made it official. In 2009, Pres. Barack Obama changed the name to African American Music Heritage Month and in 2023, Pres. Joe Biden changed it back to Black Music Month, two years after he declared Juneteenth a national holiday, the result of a movement led by Opal Lee.

Our ancestors battle for freedom over these last 400 years and the music that allowed them expression of their humanity deserved to be honored.

But we may be losing sight of the value of their sacrifices.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Faith That the Dark past Has Taught Us…’

Along with the long-known exploitation of Black musicians whose recordings were stolen by record companies, the commercialization of Juneteenth feels like another kind of theft.

I had never heard of Juneteenth until I moved to the Bay Area from my hometown of Philadelphia. I didn’t know it was one of many freedom festivals celebrated by descendants of enslaved people in the United States.

Emancipation Day was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, April 16 in Wash., D.C., May 20 in Florida, and Aug. 8 in Kentucky. But Juneteenth, June 19, has the most renown, known in Texas as the ‘colored peoples’ Fourth of July.’

It was marked by parades, beauty pageants, rodeos, backyard barbecues and church picnics.

Yes, church.

The formerly enslaved began the day praying in thanks for their freedom just as they had prayed for Jubilee – the day of freedom – when they had chains on their feet and hands. They ‘testified’ about their past suffering and how they had managed to overcome.

And they sang.

Although, we will not hold it this year, Omnira Institute’s Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance recalled this part of Juneteenth with prayers in the languages of the African captives. In the middle of the ceremony, a soloist would lead us in singing “Many Thousand Gone” while we took turns reciting portions of the Emancipation Proclamation, the news of freedom that took more than two years to reach Texas – two months after the Civil War ended.

“Many Thousand Gone” was famously recorded by Black luminary Paul Robeson in 1947:

“No more auction block for me,

No more, no more

No more auction black for me

Many thousand gone.”

Other verses refer to the ‘pint of salt’ and the ‘driver’s lash,’ the realities of enslavement that they had survived.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Hope That the Present has Brought Us’

All of the genres of African American music have at their root songs like that, the essence being, as Stevie Wonder, wrote, “the joy inside our pain.” So Black music is not just music. It is our story, our history, our very strength.

During the Civil Rights Movement, which peaked 100 years after slavery ended, the people testified that it was the freedom songs – based on spirituals – that gave them the heart to march, face attack dogs, fire hoses, beatings, and shootouts with vigilantes.

The music reminded them that power was in the people. That music, our music, can do so again. We don’t have to accept the commodification of the products of our culture.

The power of those songs is showing a resurgence across the South as we battle again for the right to self-determination through the ballot box.

Those songs are the voices of our ancestors, voices forged in their blood, their sweat, their tears, joy and, above all, faith. Those songs, those prayers live in our blood and our very breath.

This Juneteenth, let us reclaim those holy voices expressed in Black music for ourselves. It is our birthright. It can neither be bought nor sold. No more. Never again.

Wanda Ravernell is the executive director of Omnira Institute, sponsor for 18 years of the Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance and Oakland’s 11^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, which will take place on Sept. 12.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

Published

1 day ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 days ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.