Re:How Did Sam Bankman-Fried Get Bail?
by seanmcdirmid on Saturday December 24, 2022 @03:33PM
(#34120821)
> How is skipping bail not an automatic jailable offense?
We would like to know also. Our judges are off their rockers here.
I would honestly be ok with no or reasonable bail for income (like in California?) and then no leniency for not showing up to court.
It appears judges hands are tied by Washington law. Only individuals accused of capital offenses can be denied bail. I agree, this is lunacy.
Yes, what California has done is you cannot set bail at an amount someone cannot post, but judges can deny bail for those deemed a public safety threat or those who have skipped bail. Individuals are assessed based on “risk to the community” and whether they get bail is based on that. Seems reasonable to me.
Anyway I looked up Washington law and it seems the problem is that everyone has a right to bail, even those who are a great risk to public safety. Judges should have some discretion here.
Cash bail is a horrible, unjust system, but some of the replacements that have popped up are no good either, especially because they make people think that cash bail is the solution and you end up with society regressing.