What are the major criticisms of the bail system? What are some of the reforms that have been put into place to reform bail?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Critics believe that the bail system is discriminatory because defendants who are financially well off can make bail, whereas indigent defendants unable to pay are forced to languish in the county jail or pretrial detention. Other criticisms include the fact that bail is costly because the government must pay for those offenders who can't afford to bail themselves out. The system is unfair because a higher proportion of detainees receive longer sentences than people released on bail. Finally, critics argue that bail is dehumanizing because innocents who can't afford bail suffer in deteriorated jails. These criticisms have led to a number of bail-related reforms. The first bail reform program was called the Manhattan Bail Project, which began in 1961 with the cooperation of New York criminal courts and local law students. The project found that if the court had sufficient information about the defendant, it could make a reasonably good judgment about whether the accused would return to court. When release decisions were based on information such as the nature of the offense, family ties, and employment record, most defendants who were released on their own recognizance (ROR) returned to court. The success of ROR programs in the early 1960s resulted in bail reforms that culminated with the enactment of the federal Bail Reform Act of 1966, the first change in bail laws since 1789. This act sought to ensure that release would be granted in all noncapital cases in which there was sufficient reason to believe they would return to court. It also clearly established the presumption of ROR must be overcome before money is required, authorized 10 percent deposit bail, and introduced the concept of conditional release. During the early 1970s and early 1980s, the pretrial release movement was hampered by public pressure over pretrial increases in crime. As a result, the Bail Reform Act of 1984 mandated that no defendants will be kept in pretrial detention simply because they cannot afford money bail, established presumption for ROR in all cases in which a person is bailable, and formalized restrictive preventive detention provisions. This act required that community safety, as well as the risk of flight, be considered in the release decision. Criminal justice factors such as the seriousness of the charged offense, the weight of the evidence, the sentence that may be imposed on conviction, court appearance history, and prior convictions are likely to influence the release decisions of the federal court.