KANSAS — The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is urging lawmakers to expand the use of no-cash bail, warning that the current system unfairly punishes low-income communities, KCUR reported.
In a new study, the ACLU illustrated the issue by highlighting the example of a Wichita family earning $5,600 a month. When the father was arrested for marijuana possession and given a $2,500 bond, the family could not cover the cost without losing nearly half its income. As a result, the father remained in jail until trial, KCUR described.
Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, argued that requiring defendants to pay cash bail for release creates a “two-tiered system of justice… where folks get treated differently, have different outcomes based on whether they have money or whether they don’t.”
The ACLU report examined arrests and crime data in Sedgwick County during 2023 and 2024. It found that the majority of arrests were for nonviolent crimes, with bail typically set between $1,000 and $1,500. Because the average county resident earns about $3,000 a month, the ACLU argued that a single drug arrest can saddle a household with an upfront cost equal to nearly one-third of its income.
According to KCUR, Kubic said that even before being convicted of a crime, people are forced to post bail. Remaining in jail because bail is too high can lead to job loss, eviction, or leaving children unsupervised.
“That harms all of us,” Kubic told KCUR. “It doesn’t improve outcomes and it makes communities weaker.”
The ACLU study recommended that the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office adopt a policy of requesting own-recognizance bonds—release without cash bail—for nonviolent offenses, KCUR added.
District Attorney Marc Bennett said the reforms are “not as simple” as the study makes them seem. He told the Kansas News Service that judges, not prosecutors, set bail, and noted that Sedgwick County already employs cashless bail for many nonviolent offenses. Bennett also cited criminal history as a factor in bail decisions, pointing out that nearly 70% of defendants facing new charges already have felony records.
Kubic emphasized that income-disparity issues extend beyond Sedgwick County. He told KCUR that district attorneys statewide could request judges to use cashless bail for nonviolent offenses more often to help narrow the gap.
Representatives for the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association declined to comment on the recommendation, KCUR reported.
While the ACLU of Kansas is pressing for cashless bail locally and statewide, President Donald Trump is moving in the opposite direction. In August, he signed an executive order ending cashless bail in Washington, D.C., and has called on Congress to enact a nationwide ban.
KCUR reported uncertainty about Congress’s ability to pass such a ban, citing the conservative R Street Institute, which argued that the measure would violate the Constitution.
Kubic voiced his opposition to Trump’s proposed ban, saying, “It is disrespectful to state and local officials—regardless of party, regardless of ideology—and their ability to do what is best for their constituents.”
Trump, however, claimed—without citing evidence—that cashless bail had led to the release of accused murderers within hours. “Somebody murders somebody and they are out on no-cash bail before the day is out,” he said during an August press conference.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center fact-checked the claim as “misleading,” noting that most states with cashless bail exclude violent felonies, including murder. The Center called it “exceedingly rare” for judges to release murder suspects without cash bail.
Criminal justice reform groups also dispute Trump’s statements. The Bail Project cites falling crime rates in New Jersey and Illinois after cashless bail systems were enacted. A 2024 Brennan Center for Justice study found no evidence linking bail reform to increased crime.
KCUR also cited FBI data showing violent crime has declined in 2025, continuing a downward trend that began after a pandemic-era spike, according to the Associated Press.
Ames Grawert, co-author of the Brennan Center study, told KCUR that cash bail “still poses the issue of unequal justice.”
“A lot of people agree, even across party lines, that wealth shouldn’t be what decides whether someone walks free or spends the time that they have before trial in detention,” Grawert said.
The ACLU maintains that policymakers should weigh the unequal burdens of bail on low-income communities when discussing reform, even as the national debate intensifies.
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