Bail

The pretrial release of accused persons with conditions pending trial

Overview

Bail trades release before trial for conditions, historically money bonds, that secure appearance. The Eighth Amendment bars excessive bail without creating a right to it, and preventive detention for danger entered federal law in 1984. American money bail drew reform movements arguing it jails the poor for poverty, with several states and cities shifting to risk assessment and unsecured release. The issue pairs flight risk with dangerousness, presumption of innocence with victim safety, in every jurisdiction. English law restricted bail in capital cases by statute as early as the seventeenth century.