Adams, Broomfield, and Weld County Bail Bonds

The goings-on behind the bench in Adams County have gotten nasty with allegations of misconduct flying fast and loose in Brighton. Now more than a year into the drama, events have devolved into a series of troubling allegations, blanket denials, counter allegations and official complaints with no resolution in sight.

In what can only be described as a stunning reversal California voters overwhelmingly chose to shoot down former Governor Jerry Brown's 11th-hour attempt to shove bail reform down their throat, rejecting Proposition 25 by more than 2 million votes.

Proposition 25, or Prop. 25 as it’s commonly known, would have eliminated cash bail bonds in California and opened the state up to the kind of chaos that has befallen New Jersey and other states that fell for the bail reform ruse. Jerry Brown had signed Prop. 25 as one of his final acts as Governor in 2018 against widespread opposition. Fortunately, fast-acting voters were able to gather enough signatures to put Prop. 25 on the ballot in 2020, thereby delaying its implementation. That implementation has now been permanently shelved.

Some people are never happy. Other people never get the message. And some think the will of the people is an absolute joke, a fraud, a bad dream. When 55 percent of voters in California voted No on Proposal 25, they sent a crystal clear message – the state’s cash bail system will live to fight another day. A bondsman in Adams County, Broomfield County, Weld County, Denver, or elsewhere in Colorado should be concerned with risk assessment tools in Colorado.

After years of debate, after millions were spent by the “for” and “against” camps and lavished on legislators on both sides of the fence, California’s Proposition 25, which would have abolished the state’s cash bail system and possibly set a nationwide precedent, was defeated. According to poll results, 55.4 percent of residents voted against the measure. That is a solid gap between "yes" and "no," but bail bondsman across the country should take note. The war is not over, not by a longshot.

Across the country, divisiveness and discord have reigned supreme all year. Tune in to news about the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House response to COVID-19, and other hot button topics, and you'll see Americans not only don't get along, but no longer seem to care whether they get along. All parties have their extremes, and a storyline played out in many states marked a crucial turning point in the future of the much-debated cash bail system, with Californians' historic vote on Proposition 25 earlier this month.

Reforming the American cash bail system is no small task. Even as bail bonds professionals with decades of collective experience, we understand the need for change. Getting antiquated laws off the books, upgrading technology, improving existing processes, are all part and parcel of making the system better for everyone. We’re not in favor of abolishing something that’s supported the U.S. judicial system for 100-plus years, but we recognize the actions of a few bad actors make us all look bad.

Well-intentioned people can debate long into the night about whether the recent rioting in cities like Minneapolis was justified or crossed the line into overtly criminal behavior. Certainly, you can find people on both sides of the issue who will make impassioned arguments about the rightness of their beliefs. What seems beyond question, however, is that when Minneapolis authorities responded to the riots by embracing the catch-and-release principles promoted by anti-bail zealots, they only exacerbated an already difficult situation.

In a year that can only be called 'unprecedented', it should come as no surprise that anti-bail zealots have taken to redefining reality instead of accepting it. You see, after suffering a clear defeat in their efforts to do away with Ohio's cash bail bonds system, the anti-bail Buckeye Institute decided that defeat and victory are the same thing.