Bail in Texas

Texas county jails detain more than 53,000 people on any given day who have not been found guilty of a crime. The vast majority remain in jail simply because they cannot afford bail: the amount set by the court that a person must pay to be released.

This brief provides a high-level overview of Texas’ two-tiered bail system. It describes how the current approach to pretrial decision-making fails to deliver the safety and justice that Texans deserve — at great human and financial cost. And it includes recommended improvements to our pretrial system.

READ THE BRIEF