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DOCUIENT RESUME
07146 - [C2968042]
Th. Federal Bail Process Fosters Inequities. GGD-78-105;
B-,57179. October 17, 1978. 43 pp. + 3 appendices (21 pp.).
Rport to the Congress; I4 Elmer B. Staats, Comptroller General.
Issue Area: Law Enforcement and Crime Prevention: Efforts to
Reduce the Backlog of Cases and Provide for Speedy Trials in
Federal Courts (513).
Contact: Genera]. Government Div.
Budget Function: Law Enforcement and Justice: Federal Judicial
Activities (752).
Organization Concerned: Administrative Office of the United
States Courts; Federal Judicial Center.
.'thority: Bail Reform Act of 1966. Speedy Trial Act of 1974. 18
U.S.C. 3154. 18 U.S.C. 3146. United States v. Cramer, 451
F.2d 1198, 1200 (5th Cir. 1971). United States v. Leathers,
412 '.2d 169 (D.C. C.!-. 196!). Uziited States v. Gillin, 345
F. Supp. 1145, 1146-47 (S.D. Tex. 1972). United St&tes v.
Bigelov, 544 F.2d 904, 907-08 (6th Cir. 1967). United States
v. Wind, 527 F.2d 672, 674-74 6th Cir. 1975;. Blunt v.
Unite4 Stat,4s, 322 A.2d 579 (D.C. App. 1974). Unit-d States
v. Kirk, 534 F.2d 1262, 1280-81 (8th Cir. 1976). United
3taten v. Gilbert, 425 F.26 490, 491-92 (D.C.C. 19t9),
United States v. Bishop, 537 F.2d 1184, 1186 (4th C.:r.
1976). United States v. Thompson, 452 F.2d 1333, 1340-41
(D.C.C. 1971). Allen v. United States, 386 F.2d 634, 636
(D,,C.C. 1967) .
Each of the 55,000 criminal de:endants who annually
enter the Federal court system must have a bail hearing before a
judi.cial officer, 7.zaally a magistrate. This bearing is
important because thv magistrate decides the bail conditions
,,nder which the defendant may obtain release pricr to trial.
-etrial release (bail) prrctices in Federal district courts
,re reviewed to determine if the bail system is used to cause a
high rate of appearance without unnecessarily detaining
defendants. Findings/Conclusions: Judicial officers havp
substantial discretion in making bail decisions. As a result,
they set widely varying, and in some cases overly re:rictive,
release conditions because they use bail for differing purposes
and weigh the criteria of the BaUl Reform Act differently.
Consequently, some Oefendants ave jailed, have to pay to be
released, or are otherwise restricted while other similarly
charged 4efendants are not so restricted. Judicial officers need
more complete and teliable information when making bail
decisions. The Federal judiciary has not established a system tc
provide judicial officers with feedback on the results of their
bail decisions in relation to the results of other judicial
officers and t) monitor and evaluate the bail process. The
usefulness of £'retrial Services Agencies' (PSA's) supervision
and social services functions has nct been demonstrated; the](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaobaayec0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)