LETTER: Nevada Supreme Court bailing rule long overdue
In response to the Review-Journal’s April 9 story on the Nevada Supreme Court’s new standards for cash bails: The reform makes sense and is humane.
Too many times, a true cash bail payment (versus a bail bond in which the accused pays 10 percent to 15 percent of total value to a bondsman) violates the constitutional idea that a citizen is innocent until proven guilty. If teachers or retail workers, for example, must pay the entire cash payment to avoid immediate incarceration, they will assuredly lose their job, health insurance, etc. if they or the family do not have “deep pockets” or even a mortgage to turn over title.
Three states have abolished cash bails entirely (Alaska, New Jersey and New York). Bail’s purpose originally was to reduce flight risk, but now it is being used as immediate “punishment.” Someone with no prior criminal record may face this hopeless situation, spend months in jail and then ultimately be found innocent in court. Yet that life is ruined.
Bravo to our Nevada Supreme Court for taking this step toward true criminal justice reform.
