In February of 2017 Maryland’s highest court approved sweeping changes to the unjust cash bail system. These changes became effective roughly one year ago, and almost every jurisdiction is actually abiding by Court’s mandate, when determining release, to use the least restrictive means to assure the safety of the community and to assure the defendant’s presence in court. Baltimore City seems to be the one outlier and the one jurisdiction where pre-trial inmate numbers are skyrocketing, so you cannot simply blame the new bail system. Rather, the blame should be focused on the individuals who are tasked with implementing the new bail system and have since failed to do so in Baltimore City. The failure of Baltimore to adhere to the Court of Appeals’ mandate begins with the district court commissioners. These commissioners are only required to be college graduates, have little or no formal legal training and yet they are tasked with the immense responsibility of determining whether a defendant stays in custody or goes home to face the charges. Commissioners are also given the power to issue arrest warrants on civilian charging documents, and often do so without ever considering the charges could be untrue and motivated by spite and vengeance. Each day dozens of innocent people are arrested on charges supported by little or no corroborating evidence, and then are rubber stamped with a no bail by commissioners.
After a court commissioner denies bail the defendant will sit until the next business day when he or she will go before a district court judge for a bail review. In Baltimore City agents from pre-trial services will first speak to the judge. These agents do very little background research on the defendant and absolutely no research about the pending case. Often pre-trial will wait until an hour or so before the hearing to try to confirm the defendant’s living situation. The result is typically pre-trial giving the same recommendation as the commissioner, which sadly again is to hold without bail. The Assistant State’s Attorneys who conduct bail reviews at the Wabash or Patapsco Avenue district courts typically do not take a closer look into the facts surrounding the arrest either, which is a huge problem not just in Baltimore City, but the entire state. At the very least all civilian criminal complaints should be reviewed by a trained attorney. It is simply too easy to have someone falsely arrested in Maryland, and this absolutely needs to change.
Many Assistant State’s Attorney’s who conduct bail reviews act as another rubber stamp in requesting a no bail hold. They (or their bosses) are likely worried about the rare occurrence where a bail is recommended and then the defendant gets out and commits a violent crime, but that is no excuse. It is a huge responsibility to prosecute cases for the state, and it’s a difficult job requiring difficult decisions. The same can be said for judges, whose worst nightmare is releasing a defendant only to have that defendant go out and murder someone. This is the harsh reality that judges face, but those who otherwise should be entitled to pre-trial release should not suffer the consequences of this hypothetical worst case scenario.
The inmate count in Baltimore City is rising because of those entrusted with making difficult decisions have failed to abide by the wishes of the Court of Appeals and the interests of justice. The new bail policy is not to blame, as a policy is only as effective as the individuals who implement it. The Blog will continue to follow this pressing issue, and our hope is that bail reform will one day lead to reforming the way a person can be arrested and charged with a crime. If you or a loved one has been arrested or charged with a crime in Maryland contact attorney Benjamin Herbst for a free consultation. Benjamin handles bail reviews, outstanding arrest warrants, violations of probation and every type of new criminal law offense in state and federal court. Contact Benjamin for a free consultation at 410-207-2598 anytime.
Resources
Numbers raise questions about move to reform bail in Maryland, wbaltv.com.