New bail guidelines went into effect January 1, 2017 under the new Bail Reform. Many defendants are now given the opportunity of being released on their own recognizance, with and without conditions. In the past, monetary bail was required. One of the purposes of this new reform is to avoid the situation here defendants can’t come up with a small amount of monetary bail and remain incarcerated until their trial is concluded.
All defendants are rated as to risk of their non-appearance at the next court date and rated on whether there is a risk that they will commit a crime of violence in the future. They are rated on a scale of 1 to 6 with 1 being the lowest risk. However, people with a 6/6 rating can still be released and people with a 1/1 rating can be required to have a detention hearing at the request of the prosecutor’s office. Individuals who are arrested and held, must have a detention hearing within forty-eight (48) hours.
Michael Schreiber had his first client, an 18-year-old with no prior record, who was being detained on a first-degree armed robbery and he was able to convince the Judge to release his client until his court date over the State’s objection. If he was unsuccessful, the client would have stayed incarcerated until the conclusion of his trial.