David Ball spoke to KTVU-TV news after a woman was held on $500,000 bail for vandalism of San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s home. The amount is ten times the amount for a non-violent vandalism charge. Read the article.

“I think this is outrageous. It’s ridiculous. I don’t normally say those kinds of things, but this is truly absurd,” said Santa Clara University School of Law Prof. W. David Ball. “In the time of a global pandemic, I think we should use pre-trial detention very, very abstemiously. We shouldn’t just be throwing it out there.”