

Maryland lawmakers are considering how bail is set, including statistical models - Houshalter
http://programs.wypr.org/podcast/bail-reform-maryland-former-ambassador-china-jon-huntsman-and-singer-erin-dickins

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Houshalter
Paper:
[http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/prfdsc.pdf](http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/prfdsc.pdf)

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pliny
So this will finally make it impossible for judges to arbitrarily impose
punitive measures on people who have not been proven guilty?

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bruceb
Unless a person is suspect in murder, rape, or serious assault, etc. Bail
should be low. Most people are not running and it is ridiculous to punish
people before they are found guilty. It is subsidy to the bail bond industry.

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david_otoole
The computers are already using governments to make decisions about you.

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ollysb
Is bail consistently repaid after the trial?

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bradleyland
Yes, and this is the basis for a sizable industry in the United States.

The accused must post a bond to ensure that they will appear in court when
scheduled. A bond is just an agreement backed by money. Fail to fulfill your
end of the agreement, and you lose the money.

Often, the accused do not have the financial means to satisfy their bond
requirements. In this case, bail bondsmen put up the cash to satisfy the bond
in exchange for a fee paid from the accused. This fee is non-refundable, and
is usually some percentage of the actual bond amount. If the accused do not
appear in court on their scheduled date, it is up to the bail bondsman to
track them down and deliver them to the custody of law enforcement.

The system is on the sketchy side, but it serves a purpose. Bail bondsmen have
tremendous incentive to make sure their clients appear in court. In this way,
they act as a kind of outsourced private detective in charge of keeping track
of people who are out on bond. Their business model works because bond amounts
are paid back when the accused appears in court. In reality, bondsmen don't
post the capital for every bond. They are, in turn, bonded with the local
jurisdiction they serve. They put up a single large sum of money, giving them
the ability to move in and out of individual bonds with low friction. They
make 100% of their money on the fees they charge to the accused.

The industry gets a bad rap, but there's an upside as well. Those in need of
bond are infrequently the ones who post their own bond, even when the amount
is only a fraction paid to the bail bondsman. It is more often family or
friends who post the bond. A bail bondsman is prepared to come and find you if
you skip town. They have the resources and the reputation to incentivize the
accused to show up as agreed, which ends up saving families from huge losses
due to posting bond for delinquent relatives.

