Bond changes make courts more fair
It is important to remember what is at the heart of those changes – the concept that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
Bond changes make courts more fair It is important to remember what is at the heart of those changes – the concept that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Check out this story on lcsun-news.com: http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/opinion/editorial/2017/07/05/bond-changes-make-courts-more-fair/453980001/
Sun-News Reports, . Published 5:02 p.m. MT July 5, 2017
Judge bangs his gavel.(Photo: courtesy photo)
The New Mexico Supreme Court called for the constitutional amendment on criminal bail and bonds that was approved by 87 percent of voters last year. It is now up to that court to ensure the changes are carried out in a way that does not endanger public safety.
The changes are the result of a two-year study on pre-trial detention by an ad hoc committee established by the court.
"We sought to deal with the two worst problems of the money-for-freedom system, which are that dangerous people were being released and non-dangerous people were held simply because of not being able to buy their way out," Supreme Court Justice Charles Daniels told the Sun-News.
To that end, the Supreme Court released new rules Saturday to provide guidance for local courts. The indent was to replace wealth with risk as the primary factor in determining which defendants would have to stay in jail while awaiting trial. Those who pose the greatest risk to the community, or who are most likely to flee, will be held, regardless of how wealthy they are. Those who are not a risk will be set free, regardless of how poor they are.
The old bond schedules – which list specific bond rates for specific crimes, and had been a source of consternation for the local Magistrate Court – have been eliminated. Under the new rules, those charged with misdemeanors cannot be held without a hearing, and conditions of release must be set by a judge within three days of arrest.
Those charged with a felony can be held in pre-trial detention only if a judge determines there is "clear and convincing evidence" of a danger to the community.
Those arrested for minor offenses will be eligible for automatic release on personal recognizance by a designee before an initial court appearance. But there are 16 offenses — including DWI, domestic violence and criminal sexual charges — that are excluded from release by a designee.
Opponents of the changes worry that crime victims and witness will be exposed to greater danger. That concern is especially great in cases of domestic abuse, where studies show the chances of a victim actually being murdered are greatest in the hours immediately after a crime has been reported, experts said.
District Attorney Mark D'Antonio also complained that the procedures for filing a pretrial detention motions were "unworkable," requiring motions to be filed in both district and magistrate courts hours after arrest.
No new system will be perfect upon its initial rollout, and if there are problems with the initial rules, then changes should be made.
But it is important to remember what is at the heart of those changes – the concept that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Our county detention center has been filled with those who haven't been proven guilty of anything, other than being poor.
We need to do this in a way that protects public safety. But the guiding principal of making decisions based on risk, not wealth, is sound, and should greatly increase the fairness of our state's judicial system.
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