About unBail

Our Mission

Democratize

unBail democratizes information about the criminal legal system. We deliver valuable and relevant legal information (but not legal advice) to defendants and their families in plain language, empowering them to advocate for themselves and proactively plan for the future.

Our Vision

Responsive Justice

We envision a more just, sustainable, and equitable legal system that serves all people, where the experiences of defendants are central to all decisions made and laws passed.

Our Response

Inform & Advocate

unBail helps break the system down into easily digestible parts and provides engaging content, making it easy for defendants to stay informed.

By increasing defendant engagement and improving the transparency of the legal system, unBail aims to increase court appearance rates and encourage more equitable case outcomes for defendants. As defendants navigate the system at scale, we hope to learn about where the system fails defendants and how to address these failures.

Origin

We are an interdisciplinary team who met at a scope-a-thon hosted by Hack Cleveland in 2018 addressing systemic inequity in the criminal legal system. Our winning idea focused on creating a bail revolving fund accessible to defendants via a mobile application. A few months later we learned that an established national bail fund was expanding its operations to Cleveland.

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we pivoted and began exploring the idea of a mobile app to help defendants navigate the complex legal system.

With that direction in mind we created unBail, the trusted advisor for defendants and their families as they navigate the criminal legal system.
unBail provides timely, relevant, and informative updates about defendants' cases and how to prepare for what lies ahead via a free mobile product. This information empowers defendants to advocate for themselves and proactively plan for the future.