Photo: iStockphoto
A new bill has been filed in the Texas House that could help rein in activist judges. If passed, HB-163, written by Representative Dr. Tom Oliverson, would allow victims of violent crimes or their estates to sue judges who let violent offenders out on PR bonds.
PR bonds have been a top target for bail reform activists in the last several years due to the fact that they allow an offender to walk free without putting any money down. Anti-crime activists have tied their widespread use by radical judges to a spike in crime across the country and even in Texas cities like Houston.
Thankfully, a 2021 law banned judges from issuing PR bonds to violent offenders, but unfortunately, a few have still slipped through the cracks. A prime example of that would be the case of Jared Wilson, who received a PR bond even after he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in 2022.
Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers thinks HB-163 could help stop cases like Wilson's because it would make judges think twice before letting criminals out. He said, "If you do grant a bond to a defendant that is not entitled to receive a PR bond, you could be held civilly liable."
Kahan thinks HB-163 is a perfectly common-sense law and could even serve to strengthen the 2021 Damon Allen Act. He explained, "There's really no downside in all this; it's not going to be pandemonium, it's not going to be like you're opening the floodgates to civil liability."
He made it clear that this law would only affect the few judges who might knowingly or unknowingly violate the Damon Allen Act and, in doing so, put other citizens at risk.