Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Pretrial Release Guidelines

People are presumed innocent until proven guilty, that is to say, they are not yet properly described as "criminals"; and they are entitled under the Fifth Amendment to bail that is not "excessive."

The purpose of bail is to ensure that the accused appears for future proceedings. The availability of reasonable bail can mean the difference between being free and able to work for a living, support one's family, earn money to pay attorney fees and to otherwise assist in one's own defense -- and being imprisoned for many months.

Many people denied reasonable bail will plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit just to be able to be sentenced to "time served."

Many California jurisdictions have adopted "bail schedules" where the amount of bail depends on the nature of the charged offense without regard to factors such as the defendant's ties to the community. In my opinion bail schedules prejudge the guilt of the offender. If you believe bail schedules are a good thing, then I respectfully disagree with you.