Fiona Apple uses her voice to call out Prince George’s justice system
“Now, remember, when you are up in front of the judge, when you are there for your bond review, you haven’t been found guilty of anything. These are just allegations. And you should be able to enjoy the presumption of innocence,” she says in one video. She explains that there are only two reasons people should be kept in jail before they have had a trial.
Apple, who lives in California, may seem an unlikely advocate for people detained in a state where she does not reside. But she has served as a court watcher in Prince George’s County for the past few years, and in that role, she has observed court proceedings remotely. After the coronavirus pushed courts to start offering online access, Apple and other volunteers with Court Watch PG began witnessing what was happening in those courtrooms through their computers and phones.
The process that exists in Prince George’s County is now the subject of a lawsuit, and it will inevitably take time for that case to play out in the courts. But even without knowing how it will end, looking at what prompted it offers insight into how pretrial proceedings can affect lives.The lawsuit was filed by nine plaintiffs who claim they were illegally detained for weeks or months before their trials.
The plaintiffs — who are represented by Civil Rights Corps, the WilmerHale law firm and Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection — point to systemic problems with how the county handles pretrial releases.“A judge has decided that each of these people could safely be released into the community with appropriate conditions,” the lawsuit reads.
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