In the context of pretrial detention, explain bail.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. For felony cases, the defendant is not permitted to make a plea at the initial appearance because a magistrate's court does not have jurisdiction to decide felonies. In most instances, the defendant will be released only if he or she posts bail-an amount paid by the defendant to the court and retained by the court until the defendant returns for further proceedings. Bail is provided for under the Eighth Amendment. The amendment does not, however, guarantee the right to bail. Instead, it states that "excessive bail shall not be required." This has come to mean that the bail amount must be reasonable compared with the seriousness of the wrongdoing. It does not mean that the amount of bail must be within the defendant's ability to pay. Bail is not meant to be a sort of fine that a defendant must pay to avoid waiting for her or his trial in jail. Rather, bail is designed to provide an incentive for the accused to return to court and participate in her or his legal proceedings.Each jurisdiction has its own bail tariffs, or general guidelines concerning the proper amount of bail. For misdemeanors, the police usually follow a preapproved bail schedule created by local judicial authorities. In felony cases, the primary responsibility to set bail lies with the judge.In addition to encouraging defendants to return to court, bail may sometimes serve another purpose: the protection of the community. That is, if a judge feels that the defendant would pose a threat if he or she were released before trial, the judge will set bail at a level the suspect cannot possibly afford.To gain pretrial release, a defendant must pay the full amount of the bail in cash to the court. The money, called a cash bond, will be returned when the suspect appears for trial.