Dean Weich: Maryland's Bail System Needs Reform
February 10, 2017
Contact: Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
In an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun, University of Baltimore School of Law Dean Ronald Weich calls for improvements to Maryland's bail system, in an effort to draw down the practice of "money bail," which relies on a person's ability to pay for pre-trail freedom rather than evidence-based, race-neutral tools.
"In Maryland, a defendant's ability to make bail is the primary determining factor between freedom and incarceration," Weich writes. "In courts across the state, poor people charged with minor crimes for which they have not been found guilty are kept behind bars. The experience is devastating, often resulting in the loss of jobs and homes, as well as estrangement from children and other family members. Meanwhile, taxpayers foot the bill for keeping people locked up.
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"Maryland's bail scheme has a disproportionate impact on minorities: A 2016 report by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender estimated that African Americans paid more than two-thirds of the nonrefundable bail premiums charged to Maryland defendants. African Americans are less likely to be released before trial and their bail amounts are, on average, higher than those imposed on defendants of other races charged with the same crime.
"There is a better way. Instead of the old-school reliance on money bail, judges should be equipped with evidence-based, race-neutral tools to help determine who should be held and who should be released."
Read the op-ed.
Learn more about Dean Weich and the University of Baltimore School of Law.