Bail system needs reform
Dozens of protesters arrested in Pittsburgh. Most charged with failure to disperse or disorderly conduct. All arraigned and processed in City Court. The difference? Some were required to pay no money for bail, while others paid a few hundred dollars. Still others had to come up with as much as $1,000 to avoid jail time.
It’s all part of the inconsistent and often arbitrary system for setting bail in the Allegheny County courts, a system that demands review and reform.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette analyzed the court proceedings for 61 defendants arrested during protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd on May 30 and June 1. The vast majority had no criminal records listed in Pennsylvania.
Seventeen were released on their own recognizance; four were given nonmonetary bond, meaning they did not have to post any surety; 32 were required to pay 10% of a cash amount between $1,000 and $5,000; and eight were required to pay 10% of $10,000.
Of those eight who had to pay the highest amount — $1,000 — six had no arrest record and the remaining two had only previous charges for summary or misdemeanor incidents.
A defense attorney who is representing some of the protesters may have hit the nail on the head when it comes to understanding the wide range of bail amounts when he noted that it often just comes down to the luck of the draw — what district judge hears your case or what kind of mood the judge is when reading the arrest report.
Indeed, that may have been the case in the arrest of protesters. Six of the highest bond amounts set came from one district judge, and the other two top amounts came from a second judge.
The county’s 46 district judges, who preside over initial court appearances, have wide discretion in setting bond amounts — much to the dismay of critics, who say the process is far too arbitrary.
It seems patently unfair that protesters arrested on similar, if not identical, charges might be forced to pay widely varying bail amounts to avoid spending time in jail. Worse yet is the fact that district judges are not required to justify their reasoning for how they set bail.
Those bond amounts often hit low-income people hardest and force them to spend time in jail because they can’t afford to pay even nominal cash bail.
A defendant can challenge the amount of bail, which would be heard by a Common Pleas judge rather than a district judge, but that could take a few days and mean more time in jail while awaiting the hearing.
Those running the county courts maintain that district judges have the right to set cash bail amounts and are doing what they were elected to do. But a system that allows for such wide discrepancies in bail amounts for people accused of similar crimes is one that cries out for reform.
The inconsistent and often arbitrary system for setting bail in the Allegheny County courts demands review and reform.