Is Posting Bail a Privilege for the Rich?

[slugcountry]

Posting "Bail"

I admit I don't have a full understanding of this, but it seems like rich people have a way to get out of jail just by paying what to them is pocket change while everyone else stays there and rots.. am I seeing this incorrectly? Or is this just a ridiculously corrupt but strangely accepted practice?

 

[cristo]

Bail money can be paid to enable one to go home from jail between the time they are charged and the time they are due to go to court. Bail monies vary hugely depending upon the crime one is accused of comitting. So, yes, I guess rich people can skip this initial period of jail-- but I don't see why they shouldn't be able to. After all, they've not been found guilty of anything!

 

[Evo]

I admit I don't have a full understanding of this, but it seems like rich people have a way to get out of jail just by paying what to them is pocket change while everyone else stays there and rots.. am I seeing this incorrectly? Or is this just a ridiculously corrupt but strangely accepted practice?

Bail is usually set or denied based on risk of flight and type of crime. In some cases where the client is very rich the prosecutor will ask for bail to be denied or set higher.

 

[Moonbear]

As Evo mentioned, if someone has a LOT of money, bail can be set sufficiently higher so they won't be willing to lose that money. Keep in mind that bail is refundable money...it's sort of like a security deposit on an arrested person to ensure they'll return for trial...if they don't return for trial, the bail money is forfeit.

 

[BobG]

Bail is just to ensure a person shows up in court.

Tossing aside the extremes of celebrities accused of crimes, having possesions probably means a person will pay no bail or less bail. If a person owns a house, runs a company, has a well paying job, and has an account he has to access in order to get his money, then the person has to be guilty and the penalty pretty severe for him not to appear in court. Being a fugitive means giving up the things he worked for. A person with few possessions that lives mostly on cash will find it a lot easier to avoid the risk of being found guilty, sometimes even when they're innocent. In fact, there's quite a few that won't show up to court or pay their fines for offenses too minor to even require bail (My daughter's ex-boyfriend, for one. Nothing like getting into a minor fender-bender and having the police haul your butt off to jail for unpaid traffic offenses.)

 

[jmnew51]

Yeah, it's not a perfect system.

If you have buccu bucks you can hire a real good lawyer and beat the rap altogether.

Remember OJ?...Anyone else would have fried!

Jim

 

[Moonbear]

Remember OJ?

Remember? Have you turned on your TV this week? Actually, I assumed (possibly incorrectly) that he was the inspiration for this question today.

I figured it was most likely that the OP just didn't fully understand the function of bail and that it's not to get out of a jail or prison sentence, but rather a security deposit to keep someone from running away between the time they are arrested and the time they are on trial, i.e., during the time when they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. If they stayed in jail during this time, it would be considered that they are arrested and in custody (bail remands them to the custody of someone else other than the state), but not convicted. Often, if they are found guilty and were in jail the entire time they awaited trial (i.e., if they couldn't afford bail, or bail was denied due to the severity of the crime or risk that the person would flee), that time would be counted toward their punishment as time already served, shortening the time they'd spend in jail AFTER being convicted, while the person out on bail doesn't get that "credit." So, it sort of evens up more or less...except for the person found not guilty who couldn't get out on bail before their trial.

 

[DaveC426913]

Often, if they are found guilty and were in jail the entire time they awaited trial (i.e., if they couldn't afford bail, or bail was denied due to the severity of the crime or risk that the person would flee), that time would be counted toward their punishment as time already served, shortening the time they'd spend in jail AFTER being convicted, while the person out on bail doesn't get that "credit." So, it sort of evens up more or less...except for the person found not guilty who couldn't get out on bail before their trial.

Huh. I did not realize this (if you don't take bail, you start your sentence immediately), but in retrospect it seems emergent.

 

[edward]

Perhaps we should ask O.J., he should know by now. I can't believe the media frenzy about Simpson. It has been on all of the 24 hr. network news programing ad nauseum.

They are milking this situation to the extreme, complete with; so called experts, witnesses to the crime, and anyone who ever knew the guy. Anyone remember Kato Kaelin? He has risen from the ashes.

It's going to be a long winter.

 

[DaveC426913]

Well, if he goes to jail for anything like the maximum sentence, it'll have been worth it.

 

[AlephZero]

I can't believe the media frenzy about Simpson. It has been on all of the 24 hr. network news programing ad nauseum.

They are milking this situation to the extreme

Every hour filled with trivia about OJ is an hour less about the next screw-up in Iraq or whatever. Make your own decision about who is really milking the situation - some news channels might just be doing what they have been told to do...