Excessive Bail Issues...Opinions?

[CaptainChaos79]

Jurisdiction

Missouri

I live in a very rural and conservative county in Missouri. I myself am rather conservative, libertarian and I value traditional constitutional rights particularly those guaranteed in our Bill of Rights. In the county I live in we seem to have somewhat of a "rogue" judge who is fond of imposing upwards of $150,000 bail ( meaning families would of course have to pay 10% cash of surety of that amount to get their loved one free from county jail) for such crimes as simple drug possession. Not robbery or assault...drug possession. If you try to shoot someone its $1 million (for the record I can't say I find this disagreeable in ALL cases). However, when looking at simple possession and the fact that 90% of the county has an income under the poverty level, would this not be considered excessive under 8th Amendment definitions?

 

[ElleMD]

Nope. The constitution does not guarantee bail be set at all. It is your choice whether to pay for temporary freedom or wait it out as a guest of the state until trial. My suggestion would be to do the obvious and not use drugs.

 

[CaptainChaos79]

I am not the one in trouble but in a sense the constitution kind of does guarantee bail, doesn't it? I mean in return for the obvious promise to show up for court...Don't get me wrong I don't think that every menace to society should get a low bond and that we ought to have rapist and killers wandering free until their trial date etc etc. I just think this is a very grey area and that the authority might be overstepping a bit is all

 

[army judge]

I live in a very rural and conservative county in Missouri. I myself am rather conservative, libertarian and I value traditional constitutional rights particularly those guaranteed in our Bill of Rights. In the county I live in we seem to have somewhat of a "rogue" judge who is fond of imposing upwards of $150,000 bail ( meaning families would of course have to pay 10% cash of surety of that amount to get their loved one free from county jail) for such crimes as simple drug possession. Not robbery or assault...drug possession. If you try to shoot someone its $1 million (for the record I can't say I find this disagreeable in ALL cases). However, when looking at simple possession and the fact that 90% of the county has an income under the poverty level, would this not be considered excessive under 8th Amendment definitions?

The allegedly excessive bail might be a problem, but there would need to be complaints, plenty of complaints.

Have you considered reporting the matter to your local media (press and tv)?

The other solution is publicity.

If potential miscreants knew of the policy, some might reconsider their choices.

I always say, if you don't break ANY of their laws, you avoid being arrested and jailed!!!!!!

 

[adjusterjack]

I just think this is a very grey area and that the authority might be overstepping a bit is all

"The Supreme Court held that the only limitation imposed by the bail clause is that "the government's proposed conditions of release or detention not be 'excessive' in light of the perceived evil." In Stack v. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1 (1951), the Supreme Court declared that a bail amount is "excessive" under the Eighth Amendment if it were "a figure higher than is reasonably calculated" to ensure the defendant's appearance at trial"

Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First you refer to "drug possession" then you refer to "simple drug possession." Other than possibly decriminalized marijuana penalties, there is no "simple drug possession." Someone illegally possessing a controlled substance is either an addict or a dealer. Either way, I don't think making an addict or a dealer put up $15,000 cash to buy a bail bond is anywhere near excessive.

 

[mightymoose]

In contrast, warrants in my area for common misdemeanor narcotics offenses range from $10,000 to $35,000.