Ex-New York Chief Judge: It's time to end cash bail

Fox News ^ | Jonathan Limpan

[cuban leaf]

10% of bail to be posted by the accused.

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Is the rest just symbolic?

[Cobra64]

Who cares?

[Responsibility2nd]

Exactly how I read it. You can almost read the racism in this article.

[Graybeard58]

The state takes the risk instead of the bondsman.... and the fees. Profitable business.

[Mr.Unique]

Demonstrably FALSE

[usurper]

Good points. Non violent accused don’t need to be in jail awaiting trial.

I disagree, some lowlife transporting 100 pounds of fetnal or meth can kill thousands of people. It may be non-violent but just as deadly.

Aside from the Manfort case with is a disgrace I don't see why this is an issue.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Well.i never thought of that. You are right, there’s potential for great injury if someone is transporting drugs like that.

Then it occurs to me, we really have to look at this case by case, to determine bail for suspects.

[The Pack Knight]

It isn’t symbolic. If the accused fails to appear for trial, then the bond is forfeited and he owes the remaining 90%. He just owes it to the State rather than a bondsman.

[lastchance]

But how often does that really happen to the point bail can’t be raised?

[lastchance]

I think on the contrary he is very well acquainted with common sense. Even more he is well acquainted with how the justice system is stacked against certain people. Many of them innocent of the charges or first time offenders accused of misdemeanors.

[lastchance]

He advocates for supervised release (barring valid concerns that the offender is a danger to others). So he is not suggesting a catch and release, where the heck did they go? alternative to cash bail.

[econjack]

OK. Don't put yourself in a situation where it appears that you broke the law.

I don't abide by what you're trying to say. I've told the story here before, but on the way to the wedding reception, the mother and father of the bride were hit and killed by a drunk driver, who happened to be an undocumented worker. The judge, for reasons no one can be certain said that, because he was not rich, bail would be set at $20,000, which he paid. No one has seen him since. To me, two murders that will never see justice because some stupid judge tried to take economic considerations into the bail judgement. People are jailed because of a flight risk, innocent or not. It's got little to do with guilt or innocence at that point in time.

[dainbramaged]

I meant IN GENERAL.

[lightman]

Just take their EBT cards.

Wanna eat? See da Judge.

[NorthMountain]

Here’s an idea - don’t commit any crimes and you won’t be arrested.

How many crimes have you committed today? The answer is, you don't know, because you have absolutely no idea ALL the things some federal, state, county, city law or regulatory action compels or forbids you to do. You cannot possibly know.

How many people have been arrested, put on trial, and then acquitted by a jury of their peers?

Not committing obvious acts of murder, rape and robbery certainly improves your likelihood of not being arrested, but it's no guarantee.

[NorthMountain]

undocumented worker

Illegal alien. And I would have held him without bond.

[dainbramaged]

See my post #53 in response to the other nit picker. I have committed no crimes today. It was a general statement.

[48th SPS Crusader]

So the judge never heard of bail bonds? Guess this is what is considered fake news!

[The Pack Knight]

OK. Don't put yourself in a situation where it appears that you broke the law.

You have more trust in the government than I do. I tend to think it is a good thing that the Constitution protects the rights of the accused.

I don't abide by what you're trying to say. I've told the story here before, but on the way to the wedding reception, the mother and father of the bride were hit and killed by a drunk driver, who happened to be an undocumented worker. The judge, for reasons no one can be certain said that, because he was not rich, bail would be set at $20,000, which he paid. No one has seen him since. To me, two murders that will never see justice because some stupid judge tried to take economic considerations into the bail judgement. People are jailed because of a flight risk, innocent or not. It's got little to do with guilt or innocence at that point in time.

I am sorry to hear about what happened to that couple, but that is no reason to treat everyone accused of a crime as guilty. The judge is required to take the defendant's ability to pay into account when setting bail under the law of most states and federal law (if you are in federal court), though it sounds like he got in wrong in that case. Also, the Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, and the purpose of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused, not to punish the accused or to set bail so high no one could post it.

That said, there is no general constitutional right to bail. In theory, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to a law denying bail for any illegal immigrant, though determining who is an illegal immigrant could be a problem.

[Mr.Unique]

Start here: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-craig-baseball-20180710-story.html