Sheriff fights class action over Riverside cash bail system

Riverside County's cash bail system unconstitutionally disadvantages indigent arrestees, civil rights lawyers contended last week as they added fresh claims to a class action designed to end the practice.

One of the named defendants, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, has pushed back hard, assailing in a podcast what he called "the abuse of the legal system by activists that are going to make us spend taxpayer dollars to defend this lunacy that we've already voted against. It's common sense."

Added Bianco, who is running for governor, "We need to start holding attorneys accountable because the blatant lies in these lawsuits that allow the case to continue past the judge is truly what is harming our legal system and clogging up these courts." 

In 2020, state voters rejected a referendum that aimed to replace cash bail with a risk assessment system. But in 2021, the state Supreme Court held in In re: Humphrey that conditioning pretrial detention on an arrestee's financial resources is unconstitutional in most cases.

Lawyers have sued in several California jurisdictions to enforce Humphrey.

The Riverside lawsuit mirrors successful litigation to ban pre-arraignment cash bail systems in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco counties. In Riverside, the lawyers said in an Aug. 12 amended filing, current practices can result in indigent arrestees being held on custody stays that extend days beyond a prosecutorial decision not to file charges. Sandoval et al. v. Riverside County et al., CVR12052556 (Riverside Co. Super. Ct., filed May 28, 2025).

"These individuals are not detained because they are too dangerous to release: the government would release them right away if they could pay," the plaintiffs' complaint reads. "They are detained simply because they are too poor to purchase their freedom."

That's what happened to a person that plaintiff attorneys located only recently.  Violet Graham was unable to afford bail when arrested in April for allegedly making criminal threats. Jail officials released Graham after three days--although prosecutors had declined to file charges two days earlier.

Graham was "still wondering why I wasn't released until April 11 if on April 9 the Sheriff already knew that I was not going to be charged with a crime," according to an Aug. 10 sworn declaration.

Lawyers have added Graham to the plaintiffs in the case.

"The truth is that Riverside County's practices are even worse than these other counties," said Brian D. Olney, a partner at Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP, one of the coalition of firms representing the plaintiffs. 

"In Riverside, Sheriff Bianco keeps people in jail even after the district attorney has decided not to charge them with any crime.  Sheriff Bianco's callous disregard for the welfare of ... Graham and others like them is unconscionable."

Also in the plaintiff coalition are Civil Rights Corps, Public Justice, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Schonbrun, Seplow, Harris, Hoffman & Zeldes LLP and Prison Law Office.

Many in the coalition, including Hadsell Stormer, Civil Rights Corps and Public Justice, secured the injunction that ended Los Angeles' cash bail system. Urquidi V. City of Los Angeles, 22STCP04044 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Nov. 14, 2022).

At an Aug. 13 Sandoval case management conference, Riverside County Superior Court Judge William D. Claster noted that the Urquidi court in Los Angeles had issued a preliminary injunction in circumstances nearly identical to those alleged in the case before him. 

"The defendants were unable to identify a single case in response to the court's question whether any other court had ever found the use of cash bail constitutional," Olney said.

Bianco is represented by lawyers at Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP and by G. Ross Trindle III, Riverside County's chief assistant county counsel. They did not return a message seeking comment. 

Riverside County's communications director, Brooke Federico emailed, "Bail is a complex matter and it's important to note that bail determinations rest exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court. The county is committed to a justice system that balances constitutional protections and community safety. As this inquiry is related to an ongoing legal matter, additional information is not available at this time."

Questions sent to Bianco's media office were forwarded to him, a spokeswoman said. The sheriff is running for governor on a MAGA platform. After the Sandoval suit was filed, Bianco said in a podcast, "The idea that some innocent person is sitting in jail because they can't pay to bail out is an absolute lie." 

The county's expected demurrer to the complaint is set for a hearing on Sept. 25. After that, the court will schedule a hearing on the plaintiffs' application for a preliminary injunction.