Oregon’s bail requirements violate the constitutional right to bail
Historically, bail referred to a deposit of money or property with the court to ensure attendance at a future court date. That’s it. It included a promise to appear in court, but no other promises, and did not permit seizure of bail other than for failure to appear, so bail could not be applied to fines, costs, violation of a release agreement or unrelated judgments. Modern bail includes...
Read MoreHow to get bail in an Oregon criminal case
New clients often start out by asking me how they can get out of jail and get back to their families and their jobs. Deciding whether to go to trial and how to prepare a defense may be more important, but it is less immediate, so everyone wants to start by working on bail. It’s easy to get a hearing in front of a judge on bail, but it is harder to persuade a judge to set a bail amount that...
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