Bail Reform Case Study

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In criminal cases, Pretrial release is where a defendant is released from jail while the criminal case is pending. The release usually begins with a bond (criminal-law.com). Pretrial procedures tend to follow the general pattern of civil cases, but with imperative modifications. The functions of the pretrial release decision by attaining defendants for trial which maintains the integrity of the judicial process, the protections of witnesses and victims, as well as the community from interference, threats, or dangers (americanbar.org). The most crucial crimes are felonies which, the punishment is imprisonment for at least a year, usually in a federal or a state penitentiary. Then follows misdemeanors, which are less serious crimes that may result in incarceration of less than a year, usually in a local jail. Finally, are traffic infractions and petty misdemeanors which are usually just punished with fines.
Bail is not uncommon in the United …show more content…

The Bail Reform Act was then passed in 1966 to assure that bail practices would be revised to ensure that all persons, regardless of their financial status, shall not needlessly be detained to answer criminal charges (Champion, Hartley, Rabe 2012). Afterwards, the Bail Reform Act of 1984 came into play. The Bail Reform Act of 1984 was a revision of the original 1966 Bail Reform Act which changes in the bail practices were carried out to assure that all persons, no matter of their financial status, shall not be detained to answer criminal question, needlessly (Champion, Hartley, Rabe 2012). This act was contemporary to where it incorporated provisions for judicial officers to release defendants subject to certain conditions. For instance, reporting on a regular basis to a designated law enforcement agency, complying with a curfew, and maintaining employment or activity seeking employment if currently unemployed (Champion, Hartley, Rabe

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