Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, LLP Partners Brian Olney and Dan Stormer were recognized with the Daily Journal’s California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award for their work in Urquidi v. County of Los Angeles, Case No. 22STCP04044, which largely ended the practice of pre-arraignment cash bail in Los Angeles County. Dan and Brian were honored along with co-counsel from Civil Rights Corps, Public Justice, and Munger Tolles & Olson LLP. Dan previously received the CLAY award in 2006 and 2017.
Urquidi challenged the unconstitutional use of pre-arraignment cash bail in Los Angeles County, where arrestees are jailed before ever appearing in court based only on their inability to pay an arbitrary amount on a “bail schedule” required for their release. The Urquidi plaintiffs won an injunction against that bail schedule and ended the practice of jailing many people based only on their inability to pay.
Extensive research demonstrates that the use of cash bail does not incentive people to appear in court or discourage them from committing other crimes while out on release. To the contrary, empirical studies show that even short periods of incarceration result in the loss of jobs, housing, or access to healthcare, destabilizes peoples’ lives, and makes the commission of future crimes more likely.