A court examines whether the bail amount is much higher than the state interests involved in setting bail in the first place. As a practical matter, constitutional-based challenges to bail (arguing that the bail violates the Excessive Bail clause of the Eighth Amendment) are not very successful. The more successful challenges are that a court did not follow the state or federal statute providing for bail. Under the federal law known as the Bail Reform Act of 2004, a judge shall order the pretrial release of the person on personal recognizance, or upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond in an amount specified by the court… unless the judicial officer determines that such release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required or will endanger the safety of any other person or the community.
- What factors do courts use to determine whether someone is entitled to bail and what amount?
- Are all persons charged with crimes entitled to bail?
- What are the purposes or reasons for bail?
- What is bail?
- Is there a difference between the initial appearance and the arraignment?
- After a person is booked, what happens next?
- Is a person entitled to an attorney during the booking process?
- When a person is arrested and taken into custody, what happens next?
- What warnings must the police give you when they arrest you and place you in custody?
- What is an arrest?
- How does the criminal process begin?
- What felonies can lead to the death penalty?
- What are some examples of how states define first degree murder?
- What is a wobbler?
- What are the legal results of a felony conviction?
- What are examples of crimes that constitute felonies?
- Who determines whether conduct constitutes a felony or a misdemeanor?
- What are the basic types of crimes?
- Is a trial judge required to give a definition of beyond a reasonable doubt?
- What exactly does beyond a reasonable doubt mean?
