Re:After 20 Years as a Prosecutor in Illinois, I Quit
by manquer on Saturday May 13, 2023 @11:43PM
(#35935145)
Avoiding forfeiture works by assuming a rational frame of mind . Someone bent on revenge or societal harm or will not be stopped because the money will be forfeit .
Perhaps bail should be denied then as courts have the power to do , but setting it high is not that different from denying .
No. Bail shouldn't ever be excessive... if it's purpose is to ensure that they show for trial, then it can only be so high that the defendant should work towards avoiding forfeit. By definition, it must be affordable to them, if only barely so.
It shouldn't be used to keep someone detained. In such cases, prosecutors should have the balls to demand they not be offered bail, and judges the same to withhold it.
Every time a judge sets some ridiculous bail (I think I've personally heard amounts approaching eight digits and this for non-billionaires), it further conditions everyone including the public that high amounts are justifiable, it normalizes it.
Given our reliance on the parasitic bail bonding industry, it turns these amounts into either a pre-conviction fine, buying their way out of detainment, or judicial/prosecutorial incompetence masquerading as prudence.