In May of 2015, 30 members of the two Quaker meetings in Baltimore attended the bail review hearing of a young man charged with rioting during the unrest that followed Freddie Gray’s death. His bail had been set at $500,000. If he couldn’t pay the $50,000 bond in cash or collateral, he would be forced to await trial in jail.

That bail review hearing began a weekly “court watch,” in which a handful of ordinary citizens from the Quaker community have attended District Court sessions in the city simply as observers, seeking to understand how the system works for and against the people before it. We knew that as white, middle-class people, we were largely ignorant of a system that contributes to the devastation of the lives of many of our neighbors in Baltimore City.

After watching bail review hearings for almost two years, we’ve discovered that most proceed without any observers except those directly involved. People who come before bail court are mainly poor, mainly minority, rarely white. With few exceptions they are represented by public defenders who have had only a few minutes to talk with their clients downtown at Central Booking prior to representing them in court uptown, where a judge will determine whether a bail set by a commissioner should stand. Accused individuals with more resources have already posted bail given to them by commissioners and have been released.

While the court officials sit in a courtroom designated for bail review hearings, the men remain in a room at Central Booking downtown, shackled and seated in rows. Bail review consideration takes place by video link. Even in the best of cases, it is difficult for those in the Wabash courtroom to see the men’s faces on the video screen.

The review of each person’s case is completed in just a few minutes. The judge reviews the charges and informs defendants of their rights at a breakneck speed. Some of the judges make an effort to learn the circumstances of each person. Others race through each case mechanically with barely a look at the man whose future is before them.

Bail setting appears to be an arbitrary procedure involving five officials from bail commissioner to the judge who makes the final bail determination. Some judges ignore arguments about the ability to afford bail. Defendants with similar backgrounds and charges get widely different bail decisions depending on the judge.

Maryland’s bail system is rigged against the poor and minorities. Defendants who can make bail are released until trial, but those with few resources must stay in jail until their trial, often three weeks or more. During that wait, the detained might lose his job and possibly his home because he is the breadwinner of the family. The defendant’s family may end up in a shelter, which interrupts the children’s ability to go to school. Some of the young men arrested during the unrest were just two months short of graduating from high school — no mean feat for black youth in Baltimore — but being jailed prevented them from graduating. Studies show being jailed for even three days prior to a trial date can have a long-term, deleterious effect on the mental and emotional well-being of the detained.

People argue, “But it keeps the city safe!” This is not entirely the case. People who can afford bail even though they are charged with a major crime are free to leave as soon as they post bail. They are free to commit another crime, even murder. Maryland’s money bail system is influenced more by pressure from the bail bondsman industry than by safety.

Since we began our court watch, Maryland’s highest court determined that imposing impossible-to-pay money bail for poor defendants is likely unconstitutional, but legislation threatening this ruling, to the benefit of the bail bond industry, nearly succeeded in this year’s General Assembly session. Private profit and a policy of inequality should not trump the constitutional liberty of any of us. Other jurisdictions have adopted alternatives to money bail, replacing it with careful assessment of whether an accused is a danger or a flight risk; those who are not are released or put on home detention.

We will continue our weekly observation until Maryland eliminates money bail entirely and only detains individuals who are a threat to the community or flight risk. This is our contribution to the healing of Baltimore.

Barbara Bezdek is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and clerk of the Peace and Justice Committee of the Homewood Friends Meeting. Her email is homewoodfriends@gmail.com. Bess Keller is a consultant at UMBC. Donna McKusick is dean of developmental education at CCBC. Kathryn Munnel is retired.