Bail In Criminal Justice System In King
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Initial Hearing / Arraignment. Either the same day or the day after a defendant is arrested and charged, they are brought before a magistrate judge for an initial hearing on the case.
The bail amount is usually determined at the defendant's first court appearance (arraignment). The judge can release the defendant on their recognizance, deny bail, or set a bail amount.
In felony cases, bail is often not automatically set at the time of arrest. Instead, defendants attend a bail hearing, during which both the prosecution and defense present arguments regarding bail conditions.
First, the black-letter law of bail in the Founding era was highly protective of pretrial liberty. A uniquely American framework for bail guaranteed release, in theory, for nearly all accused persons.
This means we examined crime trends before and after bail reforms in 22 cities and compared these with trends in 11 cities without reforms. We found no significant changes in crime trends during the 12 months after reform, which indicates that bail reform does not have a discernible impact on crime rates.
The historical inquiry illuminates three key facts. First, the black-letter law of bail in the Founding era was highly protective of pretrial liberty. A uniquely American framework for bail guaranteed release, in theory, for nearly all accused persons.
