Nearly all local judges are essentially ignoring the new guidelines that are designed to make the bond system more efficient, predictable, and fair, according to a Cook County Sheriff’s Office study.
In about 85% of cases, judges deviate from the pretrial guidelines. The study noted that the deviations were “inconsistent,” even when considering the defendants’ backgrounds and the nature of the charges against them. Last month, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, one of the new system’s architects, said the procedure is not working because “judges [are] apparently distrustful of the information provided to them by pretrial services.”
Chief Cook County Judge Timothy Evans disputed the study results, citing the fact that 67% of the persons charged with nonviolent, non-weapons charges are released on I bonds.
Factors Used to Determine Bail
Like most provisions in the U.S. Constitution, the Eighth Amendment contains little more than a policy prohibition against “excessive” bail, and it is left to federal and state courts to draw the line between excessive and reasonable amounts. Rather unsurprisingly, this line is not always drawn in the same place.
That being said, the law in this area is fairly well settled. Bail essentially has two purposes, which are to protect the public and to guarantee the defendant’s appearance at a future trial date. Some specific factors include:
- Severity of Offense: This factor is not penal, at least in theory. Bail is higher in felonies than it is in misdemeanors because, the thinking is, persons accused of serious crimes are more likely to flee the jurisdiction before their trials.
- Evidence Against Defendant: The judge cannot assume that the defendant will be found guilty based on the evidence and therefore set a high bail amount, but if the defendant knows that the prosecutor’s case is unusually strong, this knowledge can encourage pretrial flight.
- Connection to the Community: People with local jobs and families are less likely to leave all these things behind. Conversely, people with personal and/or professional connections in another state or country are more likely to run and attempt to avoid prosecution.
- Threats Against Individuals: Does the prosecutor’s case rely on non-police witnesses or involve ascertainable victims, and if so, has the defendant made credible threats against these people?
In Illinois, the two overarching concerns are likelihood of appearing at future court dates and any threat posed to the community.
Bail in Illinois
The Prairie State is one of eight jurisdictions that have no private bail bond apparatus; it is also illegal for attorneys to post bonds in Illinois. Therefore, all pretrial release is funneled through a county-run pretrial services division. In Cook County, almost all crimes are bail-eligible. After it completes an evaluation, Pretrial Services will designate a case as:
- I-Bond: A personal recognizance bond is simply a promise to appear, not unlike the ones in Illinois traffic tickets. In some cases, the defendants make a promise to appear and, if they fail to do so, must pay a penalty.
- D-Bond: Most offenses and offenders receive detainer bonds. The defendant, or a third person, must put up 10% of the bail amount to be released. When the case is over, the defendant (not the third person) receives a 90% refund.
- C-Bond: The defendant or surety must post the entire amount in cash. Most C-bond cases involve violent crimes and repeat offenders.
There are also no private bounty hunters in Illinois.
Rely on Experienced Attorneys
In most cases, you have a constitutional right to reasonable pretrial release terms. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Schaumburg, contact Glasgow & Olsson. Convenient payment plans are available.
(photo courtesy of Daniel Schwen)