Backgro​und:
- “Section 3142(c)(1) of the Federal
Bail Reform Act of 1984(1) lists the
conditions that may be imposed on a
defendant in order to secure release
pending trial. Some of these conditions
restrict the defendant's freedom of
movement; others seek to control his
activities, and others may cause
treatment to be provided. A court may,
as well, require financial conditions,
such as a cash bond, property bond, or,
pursuant to section 3142(c)(1)(B)(xii),
"a bail bond with solvent sureties in
such amount as is reasonably
necessary to assure the appearance" of
the defendant”(Carr).
Pro
- People have to pay bail even if they
are found not guilty
- Even if they don’t have to pay
bail they have to pay the bond
company.
- The Eighth Amendment says that
cash bails can’t be unreasonably high,
but some judges set the bails at
unreasonable prices:
- gives more time to the plaintiff
to gather evidence
- People who have been assigned a
high bail have a higher chance of
being convicted than those who are
able to pay their bail
- Many people take plea
bargains in order to get out of
jail sooner
- Cases tend to move slower
when defendants are out of
jail, and are more likely to
become stale
- If you are out of jail while your
case is going on, you can
communicate better with your
Con
- Ensures people show up to their court
date.
- There are other options such
as probation officer check-ins
and fines for those who don’t
show up to their trial.
- There isn’t enough room in jails for all
criminals to wait before their trial
- Eliminating cash bail doesn’t
mean that people stay in jail
before trial. There are
alternatives that allow people
to not stay in jail.
- Judges shouldn’t let people out on
cash bail and trust that they won’t go
back and continue to commit crimes
- Eliminate the bond business
- It is a business that hurts the
innocent because it forces
them to pay even when they
have are found innocent.
- Some of the nation's largest bail
bond insurers are either foreign
owned, such as Crum & Forster,
or privately held,
 lawyer

- It unfairly effects poorer people who

are unable to pay the bail. - Can make bail based on income
- “As American University law professor - People with more money will
Cynthia E. Jones found in her review still have enough money once
of the evidence ‘nearly every study on paying bail. If someone is
the impact of race in bail already struggling to pay rent
determinations has concluded that or pay for food. They will not
African-Americans are subjected to have the money to spare for
pretrial detention at a higher rate and bail.
are subjected to higher bail amounts
than are white arrestees with similar
charges and similar criminal
histories’”(Evan Horowitz).
- Other Options:
- Probation officer check-ins
- Fines is people don’t show up
to court.

Bibliography
Arnold, David, et al. "Racial Bias in Bail Decisions." PDF file. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

Burdeen, Cherise Fanno. "The Dangerous Domino Effect of Not Making Bail." ​The​ ​Atlantic​,
 www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/the-dangerous-domino-effect-of-not-maki

ng

-bail/477906/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

Carr, James G. "Bail Bondsmen and the Federal Courts."​ Federal Probation​, Mar. 1993, pp.

9-14​. SIRS Government Reporter​, ​https://sks.sirs.com​. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

Covert, Bryce. "America is Waking Up to the Injustice of Cash Bail." ​The Nation,​ 19 Oct. 2017,

www.thenation.com/article/america-is-waking-up-to-the-injustice-of-cash-bail/. Accessed

20 Nov. 2018.

Dobbie, Will, et al. "The Effects of Pre-Trial Detention on Conviction, Future

Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges." PDF file,

Oct. 2016. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

Feige, David, and Robin Steinberg. "Just Let Them Go." ​New York Times​, 12 Sept. 2018, p.

A25(L). ​Global Issues in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A553879678/GIC?u=mcps_blair&sid=GIC&xid=bf9

b6837. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.

Horowitz, Evan. "The Trouble with Bail and Some Alternatives." ​The Boston Globe​, 8 Oct.15,

www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/08/the-trouble-with-bail-and-some-alternatives/A

PjxJiBttCOyUCHGwe5gdI/story.html. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.

Innocence Staff. "Innocence Project and Members of Innocence Network Launch

Guilty Plea Campaign." ​Innocence Project​, 23 Jan. 2017,

www.innocenceproject.org/guilty-plea-campaign-announcement/. Accessed 19

Nov. 2018.
"Is It Ever Wise to Just Stay in Jail and Wait for Trial?" ​NOLO​, MH Sub,

www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/stay-jail-wait-trial.html. Accessed 19 Nov.

2018.

Jones, Cynthia E. "Give Us Free”: Addressing Racial Disparities In Bail Determinations." PDF

file.​https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.g

oo

gle.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1304&context=facsch_lawrev.​ Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

Kim, Anne. "Time to abolish cash bail." ​Washington Monthly,​ Jan.-Feb. 2017, p. 21+. ​Opposing

Viewpoints in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A478697683/OVIC?u=mcps_blair&sid=OVIC&xid=

4976ee68​. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.

Mock, Bretin. "The Death of Jeffrey Pendleton." City Lab, 25 Mar. 2016,

​www.citylab.com/equity/2016/03/the-death-of-jeffrey-pendleton/475461/​. Accessed 26

Nov. 2018.

Ofer, Udi. "We Can‘t End Mass Incarceration Without Ending Money Bail." ​ACLU​, 11 Dec.

2017,​www.aclu.org/blog/smart-justice/we-cant-end-mass-incarceration-without-ending-\

money​-bail​. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.

Quigley, Bill. "40 Reasons Why Our Jails Are Full of Black and Poor People."

Huffington Post​, 2 June 2015. ​Huffington Post​, ​www.huffingtonpost.com/

bill-quigley/

40-reasons-why-our-jails-are-full-of-black-and-poor-people_b_7492902.html.

Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

Sams, Brandon. "The Case for Reforming Money Bail: Race and Class Bias Persist."​Medium​,

medium.com/@inkind/the-case-for-reforming-money-bail-race-and-class-bias-persist-53

791

515ff03.Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.

Shackford, Scott. "Innocent Until Proven Guilty, but Only if You can Pay."​ Reason​, 2018, pp.

23-29​.SIRS Issues Researcher​,​https://sks.sirs.com​. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

U.S. Department of Justice. "Pretrial Release of Felony Defendants, 1992:

National Pretrial Reporting Program." TXT file, Nov. 1994. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

VERA Institute of Justice. "Incarceration‘s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in

America." PDF file, Feb. 2015. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

Wallin, Paul. "How Long Do You Have to Wait before Going to Court after You Are

Arrested?" ​Walling & Klarich a Law Corporation​, Wallin & Klarich,

www.wklaw.com/wait-before-going-to-court/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2018.

White, Gillian B. "Who Really Makes Money off of Bail Bonds?" ​The Atlantic,​ 12 May 2017.

The Atlantic,​ www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/05/bail-bonds/526542/.

Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.