Unsecured Judicial Release

SB 174 allows judges to release defendants on unsecured bonds — a promise to pay rather than requiring cash up front. This gives judges additional tools to release low-risk defendants who cannot afford cash bail, reducing unnecessary pretrial incarceration.

GPS supports this bill because the cash bail system creates a two-tiered justice system where wealth determines freedom. Individuals accused of the same offense face radically different outcomes based solely on their ability to pay. Unsecured bonds maintain accountability — defendants still face financial consequences for failing to appear — while eliminating the devastating effects of pretrial detention on innocent people's lives.