cash bail
Pay to leave
Cash bail is money paid to a court to secure a defendant's release from jail while awaiting trial.
The payment guarantees the accused will appear for court dates—if they don't, the money is forfeited.
Critics argue cash bail creates a two-tiered system where wealthy defendants go free while poor ones remain jailed for identical charges: She couldn't afford the cash bail and spent three months in jail before her case was dismissed.
- surety bondThird-party payment guarantee
- recognizanceCourt appearance obligation
- judgeOne who decides
- racial disparitiesUnequal outcomes between groups
- abolition movementCampaign to end slavery
poverty trap · arraignment · wealth disparity · conditional release · bondsman · defendant · economic hardship · systemic bias · family separation · incarceration rates · judicial discretion · court date · electronic monitoring · get out of jail · criminal justice system · pretrial · collateral · guarantee
- pretrialarraignment, bond hearing, booking, first appearance, grand jury
- penologypenology, prisons, incarceration, parole board, prison