An Abolitionist County Judge?

What happens when a prison abolitionist runs for judge in Texas? Former Judge Franklin Bynum of Harris County, Texas (the third-largest county in the United States) found out in 2019, when he ran for—and won—a position as judge of the Harris County Criminal Court. While on the bench from 2019 to 2022, Judge Bynum led the effort to implement sweeping bail reform, effectively ending cash bail for misdemeanors in Houston and eliminating racial disparity in pretrial release. The resulting change in the dismissal and conviction rates makes the reform effort one of the largest and most successful decarceration efforts in the country. Join Judge Bynum in conversation with Professor Gerloni Cotton for a discussion about his path to the bench and the data-driven case for leveraging judicial power for systemic change.

Presented by: Alliance of Formerly Incarcerated and System Impacted Students, American Constitution Society, and the Critical Race Studies Program.