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"Partial" bail bill aims to reduce "hardship" on defendants

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth has an interesting bill up today in the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee - SB 498 - which would allow counties to accept a partial bond from pretrial defendants "if the magistrate determines that requiring the defendant to deposit a cash bond or to procure a surety bond in the full amount of bail will impose an unreasonable hardship on the defendant."Judges can already accomplish the same thing through "personal bonds," but many are loathe to do so for political reasons (i.e., fear of being labeled "soft on crime"). In that climate, giving judges this authority may help reduce needless pretrial incarceration and jail overcrowding without being seen as reducing or eliminating bail. One would expect opposition from the bail bond industry, but perhaps they'll be placated by the fact that "partial" bonds can come from surety bondsmen as well as in cash...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).