NYT: The Bail Trap
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Every year, thousands of innocent people are sent to jail only because they can’t afford to post bail, putting them at risk of losing their jobs, custody of their children — even their lives.
Tomlin broke off to go inside the store and buy a soda. The clerk wrapped it in a paper bag and handed him a straw. Back outside, as the conversation wound down, one of the officers called the men over. He asked one of Tomlin’s friends if he was carrying anything he shouldn’t; he frisked him. Then he turned to Tomlin, who was holding his bagged soda and straw. ‘‘He thought it was a beer,’’ Tomlin guesses. ‘‘He opens the bag up, it was a soda. He says, ‘What you got in the other hand?’ I says, ‘I got a straw that I’m about to use for the soda.’ ’’ The officer asked Tomlin if he had anything on him that he shouldn’t. ‘‘I says, ‘No, you can check me, I don’t have nothing on me.’ He checks me. He’s going all through my socks and everything.’’ The next thing Tomlin knew, he says, he was getting handcuffed. ‘‘I said, ‘Officer, what am I getting locked up for?’ He says, ‘Drug paraphernalia.’ I says, ‘Drug paraphernalia?’ He opens up his hand and shows me the straw.’’
Their conversation didn’t last long. On average, a couple of hundred cases pass through Brooklyn’s arraignment courtrooms every day, and the public defenders who handle the overwhelming majority of those cases rarely get to spend more than 10 minutes with each client before the defendant is called into court for arraignment. Before leaving, Stocking relayed what the assistant district attorney told her a few minutes earlier: The prosecution was prepared to offer Tomlin a deal. Plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance, serve 30 days on Rikers and be done with it. Tomlin said he wasn’t interested. A guilty plea would only add to his record and compound the penalties if he were arrested again. ‘‘They’re mistaken,’’ he told Stocking. ‘‘It’s a regular straw!’’ When the straw was tested by the police evidence lab, he assured her, it would show that he was telling the truth. In the meantime, there was no way he was pleading guilty to anything.
When it was Tomlin’s turn in front of the judge, events unfolded as predicted: The assistant district attorney handling the case offered him 30 days for a guilty plea. After he refused, the A.D.A. asked for bail. The judge agreed, setting it at $1,500. Tomlin, living paycheck to paycheck, had nothing like that kind of money. ‘‘If it had been $100, I might have been able to get that,’’ he said afterward. As it was, less than 24 hours after getting off work, Tomlin was on a bus to Rikers Island, New York’s notorious jail complex, where his situation was about to get a lot worse.
Occasionally, these cases make the news. In June, Sandra Bland was found dead in her cell in Texas after failing to come up with $500 for her release. But often, they go unnoticed. The federal government doesn’t track the number of people locked up because they can’t make bail. What we do know is that at any given time, close to 450,000 people are in pretrial detention in the United States — a figure that includes both those denied bail and those unable to pay the bail that has been set. Even that figure fails to capture the churn of local incarceration: In a given year, city and county jails across the country admit between 11 million and 13 million people.More at the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/magazine/the-bail-trap.html
This deserves more attention.
NPR did a similar series regarding court-imposed fees last year: http://www.npr.org/series/313986316/guilty-and-charged
The system really is rigged against the poor climbing out of their situation.
NPR did a similar series regarding court-imposed fees last year: http://www.npr.org/series/313986316/guilty-and-charged
The system really is rigged against the poor climbing out of their situation.
Thats a ridiculous story. It makes no logical sense. No residue in the straw and nothing found on the dude......
That being said isn't this what bail bonds are for? 10% of actual bail then promise to appear right? Or do you eventually need to pay that whole bail back even after appearing before a judge etc.?
That being said isn't this what bail bonds are for? 10% of actual bail then promise to appear right? Or do you eventually need to pay that whole bail back even after appearing before a judge etc.?
No, you pay the full bail so you can leave jail with a promise to return to court so you can get the money back after the trial, otherwise if you don't return you forfeit the money (and obviously incur more charges). If you can't pay, then you're in jail until your trial ends (if you're found not guilty).
How do people pay $50,000
Wait, then how do people post $100K bail on short notices? I feel like there should be loanshark services that can help the dude post a $1500 bail.
It's far from ideal but it's still better than going to jail.
By reilo Go To PostNo, you pay the full bail so you can leave jail with a promise to return to court so you can get the money back after the trial, otherwise if you don't return you forfeit the money (and obviously incur more charges). If you can't pay, then you're in jail until your trial ends (if you're found not guilty).
Wait, then how do people post $100K bail on short notices? I feel like there should be loanshark services that can help the dude post a $1500 bail.
It's far from ideal but it's still better than going to jail.
High bails are set if the judge deems you can afford it and are a high flight risk. It's meant as a deterrent, but clearly even small amounts screw the poor. It's relative.
Interesting to note:
Also, there's several different forms of bail:
The prohibition against excessive bail in the Eighth Amendment is derived from the Virginia Constitution, on which Samuel Livermore commented, "The clause seems to have no meaning to it, I do not think it necessary. What is meant by the term excessive bail…?" The Supreme Court has never decided whether the constitutional prohibition on excessive bail applies to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment.
In 1984 Congress replaced the Bail Reform Act of 1966 with new bail law, codified at United States Code, Title 18, Sections 3141-3150. The main innovation of the new law is that it allows pre-trial detention of individuals based upon their danger to the community; under prior law and traditional bail statutes in the U.S., pre-trial detention was to be based solely upon the risk of flight.Yay Reagan.
Also, there's several different forms of bail:
Recognizance (ROR) – when an accused is released on recognizance, he or she promises to the court to attend all required judicial proceedings and will not engage in illegal activity or other prohibited conduct as set by the court. Typically a monetary amount is set by the court, but is not paid by the defendant unless the court orders it forfeited. This is called an unsecured appearance bond or release on one's own recognizance.[33]
Unsecured bail. It is still a release without a deposit but it differs from ROR in that the defendant must pay a fee upon breaching the terms of the bail.[34]
Percentage bail. The defendant deposits only a percentage of the bail's amount (usually 10%) with the court clerk.[34]
Citation Release also known as Cite Out – This procedure involves the issuance of a citation by the arresting officer to the arrestee, informing the arrestee that he or she must appear at an appointed court date. Cite Outs usually occur immediately after an individual is arrested and no financial security is taken.[33]
Surety Bond – by a surety bond, a third party agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of the defendant. In many jurisdictions this service is provided commercially by a bail bondsman, where the agent will receive 10% of the bail amount up front and will keep that amount regardless of whether the defendant appears in court. The court in many jurisdictions, especially states that prohibit surety bail bondsmen – Oregon, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky and Maine[35] – may demand a certain amount of the total bail (typically 10%) be given to the court, which, unlike with bail bondsmen, is returned if the defendant does not violate the conditions of bail. This is also known as surety on the bond. The bail agent guarantees to the court that they will pay the forfeited bond if a defendant fails to appear for their scheduled court appearances, so the third party must have adequate assets to satisfy the face value of the bond. In turn, the Bond Agency charges a premium for this service and usually requires collateral from a guarantor. The bail agent then posts a bond for the amount of the bail, to guarantee the arrestee's return to court.[33]
Property Bond – the accused or a person acting on his behalf pledges real property having a value at least equal to the amount of the bail. If the principal fails to appear for trial the state can levy or institute foreclosure proceedings against the property to recover the bail. Used in rare cases and in certain jurisdictions. Often, the equity of the property must be twice the amount of the bail set.[33]
Immigration Bond – used when the defendant that been arrested is an illegal alien. This is a federal bond and not a state bond. The defendant deals directly with either the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Bureau of Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). The typical cost associated with this specialty bond is often fifteen to twenty percent of the original bond amount.[36]
Cash – typically "cash-only," where the only form of bail that the Court will accept is cash. Court-ordered cash bonds require the total amount of bail to be posted in cash. The court holds this money until the case is concluded. Cash bonds are typically ordered by the Court for the following reasons: when the Court believes the defendant is a flight risk, when the Court issues a warrant for unpaid fines, and when a defendant has failed to appear for a prior hearing. Cash bonds provide a powerful incentive for defendants to appear for their hearings. If the defendant does not appear as instructed, the cash bond is forfeited and a bench warrant is issued. If the defendant shows up for their scheduled court appearances, the cash is returned to the person who posted the bond. Anyone including the defendant can post a cash bond. If the defendant posts his own bond, the Court will deduct fines and costs from the bond before returning any balance.[37]
Pretrial Services – a defendant is released to the supervision of a pretrial services officer (similar to a probation officer). In most cases defendants have no financial obligation to be supervised. Supervision by pretrial services can include phone or in-person check-ins, drug testing, court date reminders, and any other condition the judges deems necessary. See Pretrial Services Programs.
Combinations – courts often allow defendants to post cash bail or surety bond, and then impose further conditions, as mentioned below, to protect the community or ensure attendance.
