Due Process?

     As of late Dallas police have pushing for increased time to build cases against individuals that they arrest. However, this would allow police to jail people who can't pay bail for more than twice the previous time. This grabbed the attention of the blogger, Grits for Breakfast; where he tries to get the word out to everyone on Dallas Police's plan which allows them to hold people prisoner for no reason at all for longer periods of time, with his post titled "How long should cops get to jail people without charges?" Grits for Breakfast, who claims to be a previous writer for The Daily Texan and editor for the Texas Observer, seems credible and uses some primary sources in his post. Thus, I trust validity of this writer and his post.

     By beginning his blog post with the words, "Here's a messed up story for you," I can just tell Grits is unhappy at the policy being pushed by police. Wanting to extend the amount of time they can jail for no reason from three days to seven days, Dallas Police complain that other counties are more lenient with their police on the amount of time they can spend filing a case. However, Grits makes note of how defense attorneys argue that the deadline is in place for those who cannot pay bail. I agree with defense attorneys on this one; although it may be a small minority at a loss on this, everyone is entitled to "due process" under the US constitution. Additionally, on the note of other counties being more lenient, Grits makes sure to point out Houston, who despite having a higher population, has an on-call officer ready to create a defined case before the arrest even happens. Thus this pushed policy from Dallas Police, in my opinion, makes them seem lazy. Also it's not just Houston, Grits claims other cities in the US better exercise due process, with New York being his prime example where they must file a charge within 24 hours of arrest. Altogether, I think it's not right for Dallas to go through with this, and I hope you read the post for yourself and add to the arguments.