Baltimore continues to improperly incarcerate poor people pre-trial

"In making a rule change that went into effect this summer, the Court of Appeals of Maryland deliberately intended to reform the state’s pretrial detention system by limiting the use of cash bail and its frequent effect: incarcerating non-violent defendants solely because they can’t afford the price for release while they await trial.

Yet our experience as student-lawyers in our law school’s Access to Justice Clinic shows that people charged with non-violent offenses continue to be held improperly. This semester, each of the clinic’s 16 incarcerated clients either could not afford bail or were unfairly denied bail on non-violent, misdemeanor charges. This included Kevin, 18, who was held on $200 bail for a $15 theft; Tina, 52, who was held on a $300 bond on drug charges; and George, 67, who was held on a $750 bond also on drug possession charges.

The new rule requires judicial officers to identify the least onerous conditions of release, to give preference to non-financial conditions, and to weigh the individual’s income and resources when making a decision, It makes abundantly clear that imposing money bail is appropriate only to ensure a defendant’s return to court and not to deny their release. Too often, however, not enough consideration is given to an individual’s finances when calculating a “reasonable” bail amount, so poor and low-income defendants continue to be denied liberty simply because they cannot pay..."

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