Good afternoon class,
I do not agree that cash bail should be eliminated. Keeping cash bail as an option in pretrial procedures makes it more difficult for the defendants to get out of jail while waiting trial which would help keep the criminals off the streets. Eliminating cash bail could put a damper on the ability of judges to make informed decisions about these defendants. Ending cash bail and allowing defendants to leave jail without paying any money could have serious ramifications especially for those law-abiding citizens. Judges are often the ones who decide the amount of someone’s bail, and they typically have a broad discretion to raise or lower it. Taking this authority away from a judge when he is the expert on the law and the severity of the alleged crime committed could directly affect the safety of the public.
You could argue that cash bail negatively affects and discriminates against people of color and the poor. But why do the issues have to discriminate against a specific race or how much money a person has. Let’s get to the nitty gritty and discuss the actual crimes that are being committed and the consequences that come with committing those crimes to include cash bail. Cash bail is used as a guarantee that a defendant will return for trial or hearings. The money is returned after the necessary court appearance is adhered too otherwise that money is forfeited to the government.
“Understanding how the contours of wealth-based equal process developed is crucial to understanding how it has been applied in the cash bail context, how it ought to be applied, and how the Supreme Court will perceive future attempts to expand it. The current status of the doctrine is like a project cut short, more defined by political shifts than by a clear sense of its direction and purpose (Batkin, 2021).”
It still boggles my mind that wealth-based equal process is one of the manty tools that people are using to fight against cash bail. When you commit a crime, is anyone thinking of how much money the criminal has or where they come from, especially if that crime has directly affected you or your family. I would say no, so why then do people care about the criminal’s financial status when they have been arrested for committing a crime.
I hope everyone is having a good week!
Donna
References:
Batkin, L. (2021). Wealth-Based Equal Process and Cash Bail. New York University Law Review, 96(5), 1549–1581.
In your response to your peers, consider how well they justified their positions, making use of available resources. Consider the following questions in your response posts:
- Did they support their position convincingly using appropriate resources?
- Which of their points make the most sense to you, even if you made a case for the opposing viewpoint?
