One of the cornerstone principles of the Western legal tradition is the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Over the last century, the imposition of bail requirements for accused offenders has flipped that presumption on its head, frequently making pre-trial freedom contingent on cash bail amounts well above the ability of an average citizen to pay. This issue brief explores how this came to be and aims to set out principles for states to use in reforming their bail guidelines. The goal is a return to a system that truly serves both justice and public safety.

On behalf of our activist community in Ohio, I urge you to support Senate Bill (SB) 3. This bill reforms Ohio’s sentencing laws for low-level, nonviolent offenses and focuses limited prison resources and severe, mandatory minimum sentences for high-level drug traffickers. FreedomWorks supports this approach. To this effect, our activists have sent 27,207 messages in support of Senate Bill 3 to Ohio state legislators over the past year and a half.

"Every year, throughout the United States, thousands of citizens are being abused by a growingly authoritarian federal government. The sheer volume of federal statutes and regulations that carry criminal penalties means that every American could be considered a criminal by federal authorities for one thing or another. Unfortunately, most people do not take the time to consider the issue of overcriminalization until they are at the receiving end of a federal subpoena. In order to combat this epidemic of overcriminalization, legislators, bureaucrats, and other decision makers must recognize the scope of this issue and begin by plucking the lowest hanging fruit to address it."

Welcome to FreedomWorks’ latest blog series, Trump Appointee of the Week! From now until Election Day, we will highlight one of President Trump’s political appointees and their accomplishments. Check back every other week for the next edition and let us know who you want to see named the next Trump Appointee of the Week!

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is under fire for visiting a hair salon in San Francisco in violation of a city ordinance. Hair salons have been shut down in San Francisco since March but opened on September 1 for outdoor business. Pelosi visited on Monday, a day before the scheduled reopening. Video of her visit, released by the store owner, shows the Speaker walking around inside the salon without a mask covering her face, also in violation of city ordinance.

On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released separate reports on the ten-year budget outlook and the financial outlook for major federal trust funds. The reports show the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, the failure of Congress to responsibly manage federal spending, and the cost of doing nothing to put federal entitlement programs on a sustainable financial path.