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Voters Uphold California Cash Bail System

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- California voters have rejected Proposition 25, which would have replaced the cash bail system with a process of basing pre-trial custody on public safety and flight risk.

The Associated Press projected that Prop. 25 had been rejected Wednesday morning.

If it had passed, the proposition would have upheld a contested legislation: Senate Bill 10, which sought to replace cash bail with risk assessments for detained suspects awaiting trials. SB-10 would have made California the first state to end the use of cash bail for all detained suspects awaiting trials. It would have replaced the state's cash bail system with risk assessments to determine whether a detained suspect should be granted pretrial release and under what conditions.

Backers of Prop. 25 argue the cash system favors wealthy defendants, but opponents said the resulting system is discriminatory and gives too much discretion to judges who will make custody decisions.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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