Michigan Cues Up Bail Overhaul as Other States Eye Illinois Ban

Risk Assessment

Observers praised New Jersey’s approach in 2017, which involved input from law enforcement, that reduces the use of cash bail by using data-based risk assessment.

“New Jersey is looked at as the gold standard, because they essentially dismantled the cash bail system while maintaining public safety,” Lisel Petis, former prosecutor and resident senior fellow with center-right think tank R Street Institute, told Bloomberg Law.

Under the New Jersey system, the decision whether to detain is based on nine risk factors to assess the risk of new criminal activity, including new violent criminal activity, and failure to appear pending case disposition.

Like New Jersey, both the Illinois and the proposed Michigan schemes include risk-based assessment.

“I’m cautiously optimistic” about the Illinois system, Petis said. “There are now state-wide pretrial services and more thorough hearings to decide whether to detain or release based on flight risk, based on individual findings, which will help address safety concerns,” Petis said. “If Illinois succeeds, I think others will follow,” she said.