Effectively Updating Michigan’s Bail System

Authors

Lisel Petis
Resident Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Alan Smith
Director, Midwest; Resident Senior Fellow

Media Contact

For general media inquiries and to book our experts, please contact [email protected].

People have a right to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the government should not have an unfettered ability to restrict someone’s freedom when the person has not yet been convicted of a crime.

Introduction

Bail is the system governing an accused individual’s release from jail pending trial. Effective use of bail requires a balance between maintaining public safety and upholding personal freedom and constitutional liberties. People have a right to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the government should not have an unfettered ability to restrict someone’s freedom when the person has not yet been convicted of a crime. For this reason, bail may not be excessive and the government may only use it to address flight and safety concerns.

Currently, the Michigan bail system predominantly relies on money to determine if someone can be released pretrial. However, the use of monetary conditions has created a system that allows those with cash to get out and those with limited funds to waste taxpayer dollars unnecessarily while they remain incarcerated. A court can instead use alternative options—such as pretrial risk assessment, supervision and electronic monitors—to address public safety concerns more effectively and maintain the likelihood of an individual returning to court. These services are far less expensive than pretrial detention for taxpayers, the accused and the economy, and all of them have positive track records in real-life situations.