Bail reforms might have a chance this year 0share This story was originally published by Nevada Current. While testifying on legislation addressing pretrial detention, Kendra Bertschy with the Washoe County Public Defender’s office described a broken aspect of the bail system she said leaves people behind bars even when they haven’t been convicted of a crime. One client she referenced was a 19-year-old college student with no prior arrest who was accused of a nonviolent offense, though Bertschy didn’t specify the crime. The client, who was referred to as Sara, was subjected to pretrial risk assessment, a tool courts use to determine a person’s safety risk to the community and likelihood to return to court. The higher score, the higher the estimated risk, and Sara scored a zero since she had no prior arrests and valid contact information.