The Problem with Bail
An interview with Robin Steinberg
Many Americans who are charged with a crime cannot afford the bail money required as a condition of release and, as a result, await their trial in jail for months or even years. According to critics, this cash bail system has created a two-tiered criminal justice system, one for the rich and one for the poor. With nearly two-thirds of the incarcerated population in the US made up of pretrial detainees, is it time to reevaluate the practice? As part of our "Lawyers for the Greater Good" series, Robin Steinberg of The Bail Project discusses the high cost of cash bail to individuals and communities and explores alternatives for reform.
About Robin Steinberg
“Even a minor criminal arrest has all sorts of collateral consequences that have to be guarded against.”
Robin Steinberg is a public defender and criminal justice reform leader who pioneered the holistic model of public defense. She founded The Bronx Defenders in 1997, building an interdisciplinary office that pairs criminal defense with family, civil, and immigration advocacy. She went on to found the Bronx Freedom Fund, one of New York's first charitable bail funds; Still She Rises, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the nation's first public defender office dedicated to representing mothers; and The Bail Project, a national revolving bail fund launched in 2018, which she led as CEO until 2023 and continues to serve as a founder and board member. She is the Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow in the Criminal Justice Program at UCLA School of Law. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and NYU School of Law.
