Lawmakers to Scale Back Bail Law

 Bail laws are only as effective and humane as the judges who employ them. It is a given that far too many people have been incarcerated unnecessarily and for too long when facing minor or nonviolent offenses because of their lack of means. The blame for that fact rests primarily on judges who had the authority to release the accused without bail but lacked the gumption to do so. That circumstance justified laws proscribing cash bail in appropriate cases.

The Achilles’s Heel of those laws, which made them lose public support and has led to their revision, was their failure to empower judges to set bail when the facts demonstrated that an accused posed a danger to public safety. While that deficiency should be remedied, in reality it will make little difference. Notwithstanding their lack of express authority, most judges tacitly weigh the danger when fixing bail. The revised law should codify that practice.
However, the criminal justice system will only achieve just ends when the men and women who preside have the good judgment and courage to implement it fairly.