Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas recently addressed the California Department of Insurance regarding bail. He was the first speaker in a panel labeled “Options for Reform of California’s Bail System.” Mr. Rackauckas introduced himself with a brief synopsis of his 40-year career in the criminal justice system including work as a judge, prosecutor, defense attorney and now elected position as the county’s district attorney. He spoke directly to those who call for bail reform or particularly the elimination of bail.
Is Bail Constitutional?
Mr. Rackauckas spoke in unequivocal terms. There is no question that bail is constitutional. He pointed to the fact that bail in fact preexists both constitutions and is recognized in the constitution.
What about Bail Alternatives?
The Orange County District Attorney noted that there are lots of good programs being suggested such as Pre-trial release and diversion programs. He acknowledged that each of these programs have a place in the criminal justice system but that bail is important to our system. He stated that it would be “tragic” to undo bail particularly when it comes to serious or sophisticated felonies. Pre-trial release, in his opinion (and experience) would not be effective. Bail on the other hand has proven effective particularly in these kinds of high-risk offender cases where people who are bailed out tend to return to court.
Mr. Rackauckas stated that if someone is released on their Own Recognizance (OR) and does not appear at a court date, the judge finds a “Failure to Appear” and the case goes off calendar. The FTA is entered into the system and generally nothing else is done unless a law enforcement agent has a particular interest in picking up the defendant on the warrant. When a person bails out, however, the bail agent has a financial incentive to bring the person back to court. They go through extensive investigation and searching even appearing in court and asking for extensions to bring the person to justice. This is all at no expense to the taxpayer since it is a private system and not a government agent looking for the fugitive.
Potential for Improvements in the Bail System
Mr. Rackauckas acknowledges that there is always room for improvement. As others have noted the lack of uniformity in setting bail from one county to the next has caused confusion and inconsistency. While he does not agree with the need to have a statewide uniform bail schedule, he does suggest that uniform guidelines would be helpful. He also states that there should be mandatory bail review hearings within the shortest-time period possible to consider an individual’s circumstances on a particular case.