California Supreme Court sets new bail limits

Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, right, speaks next to Associate Justice Carol A. Corrigan at the California Supreme Court in San Francisco, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool)

A recent state Supreme Court ruling means that courts must set pre-trial bail at a level defendants can actually pay if they're charged with nonviolent crimes.

The unanimous ruling comes out of a 2021 San Mateo County case, in which Gerald Kowalcyzk, a San Carlos man, was charged with using someone else’s credit card to buy a $7 cheeseburger and was held for six months in jail after not being able to pay his $75,000 bail.

James Taylor, a political science professor at University of San Francisco, said its not clear yet whether the decision will help reduce jail populations.

“Almost anything California leaders do is bound to be seen through the gaze of liberal versus conservative," Taylor said. "And then what happens is judges hear the criticisms of the liberal punishment system of California, and some will rebuff against it.”

The ruling does not apply to people who are charged with capital offenses or violent crimes.

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