Excessive Bail Clause
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The Excessive Bail Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits excessive bail set in pre-trial detention. If a judge posts excessive bail, the defendant's lawyer may make a motion in court to lower the bail or appeal directly to a higher court.
The excessive bail provision of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is based on old English common law and the English Bill of Rights.
Origins
In England,
Text
The Eighth Amendment provides:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Interpretation
The Excessive Bail Clause currently governs only federal pre-trial detention.[citation needed]
Presence at trial
In Stack v. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1 (1951), the Court found that a defendant's bail cannot be set higher than an amount that is reasonably likely to ensure the defendant's presence at the trial. In Stack, the Court found bail of $50,000 to be excessive, given the limited financial resources of the defendants and a lack of evidence that they were likely to flee before trial.[2]
Preventive detention
(1987). The Court held that the only limitation imposed by the bail clause is that "the government's proposed conditions of release or detention not be 'excessive' in light of the perceived evil."Incorporation
The incorporation status of the Excessive Bail Clause is unclear. In
U.S. state law
Most
Georgia
In 2016, a Federal Court began to evaluate the "pre-set" bail system of Calhoun, Georgia. The involvement stems from a history of lacking consideration for the accused citizen's financial means while making a final bail determination. In 2017, Sally Yates became involved in the ongoing case.
Michigan
In Michigan, a judge or justice may be censured for "setting 'grossly excessive' bail and [thus] showing a 'severe attitude' toward witnesses and litigants", as the Michigan Supreme Court did to a trial judge in 2008.[3][4]
New Hampshire
In
New York
New York has seen the development of organizations such as The Bronx Freedom Fund to aid in the release of accused individuals who primarily possess less than $1,000 and have a bond at $1,000 or greater.
Virginia
Virginia's Bill of Rights states: "That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted; that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of invasion or rebellion, the public safety may require; and that the General Assembly shall not pass any bill of attainder, or any ex post facto law."[6]
Notable cases
One example of a large bail requirement was a case in Texas where New York real estate heir
Zachary Cruz (the brother of Nikolas Cruz, who was convicted of
References
- ^ "Annotation 1 - Eighth Amendment - FindLaw". Findlaw.
- ^ Stack v. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1 (1951). Text
- ^ Debra Cassens Weiss, "Judge Censured for Excessive Bail, Severe Attitude", ABA Journal, February 8, 2008, found at American Bar Association official website. Accessed August 28, 2008.
- ^ In re Judge Norene Redmond of Eastpointe (SC: 134481 Mich. February 6, 2008), order found at Michigan Supreme Court government website Archived May 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (pdf file). Accessed August 28, 2008.
- ^ New Hampshire statutes, § 534:6, found at New Hampshire government website. Accessed August 28, 2008.
- ^ "justia.com".
- ^ "$3 Billion Bail is Excessive - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime". www.talkleft.com.
- ^ Blog, "$3 Billion Bail is Excessive", found at talkleft.com website. Accessed August 28, 2008.
- ^ Charles V. Bagli, "Durst May Gain His Release Temporarily," September 10, 2004, The New York Times, found at The New York Times website. Accessed August 28, 2008.
- ^ contactmusic.com website. Accessed August 28, 2008.
- ^ MJEOL website Archived September 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed August 28, 2008.
- ^ Geggis, Rafael Olmeda, Anne. "Bond set at $500,000 for Zachary Cruz after prosecutors call him a threat to Parkland". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
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Further reading
- Jacob G. Hornberger, "The Bill of Rights: Bail, Fines, and Cruel and Unusual Punishments," Law blog, Posted July 29, 2005 at Future of Freedom website
External links
- News and Articles on Excessive Bail from LawKt website
- News and Articles on Excessive Bail from Mongabay website
- History of Excessive Bail from findlaw.com website
- Cases and arguments on Excessive Bail from law.onecle.com website
- A Law student's review of the law on Excessive Bail
- ConSource website
- U.S. Constitution, Annotated: Section on Excessive Bail. Prepared by the Congressional Research Service, hosted by Justia.com