NPR

California Becomes First State To End Cash Bail After 40-Year Fight

"Today, California reforms its bail system so that rich and poor alike are treated fairly," Gov. Jerry Brown said. He first advocated for an overhaul in his 1979 State of the State Address.

California will become the first state in the nation to abolish bail for suspects awaiting trial under a sweeping reform bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday.

An overhaul of the state's bail system has been in the works for years, and became an inevitability earlier this year when a California appellate court . The new law goes into effect in October 2019.

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