Lisel Petis discusses the Executive Order on Bail Reform

Lisel Petis, policy director of criminal justice and civil liberties at the R-Street Institute, said Trump’s approach is both legally shaky and misguided. “Criminal justice policy is largely controlled by the states, and the 10th Amendment prevents the federal government from dictating how states run their bail systems,” she said. “Since the president can’t directly require states to keep or bring back cash bail, it appears he intends to leverage the power of the purse—through federal funding—instead.”

Petis pointed out that under Illinois’ old bail system, 60 percent of defendants were released without cash, only 3 percent were held without the chance to post bail, and the rest were released if they could pay. Since the Pretrial Fairness Act abolished cash bail, a study across 22 counties found that 9 percent were held without release, while the rest were freed with conditions tied to safety and court appearance. “Available data from Illinois shows most individuals released without cash bail have returned to court and remained arrest-free while awaiting trial. Early results show pretrial crime rates have not increased, suggesting judges can effectively assess risk without relying on financial conditions,” she said.