The Right to Reasonable Bail, Essay Example

The bail clause was borrowed from the English Bill of Rights and was for the purpose of establishing fair and just bail for allegedly accused criminals. The history of right to reasonable bail came from England when the Sheriffs were arresting people left and right through sovereign authority on suspected crimes. Sheriffs were exploiting bail for their personal gain. The Statute of Westminster in 1275 limited the power of the Sheriffs with respect to bail. The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 gave rights to prisoners which stated “a magistrate judge shall discharge a person from imprisonment after taking their recognizance with or without surety according to the magistrate’s decision” unless a party is committed to jail for a crime of which is not bail able.

The Eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights under the United States Constitution guarantees the right of reasonable bail. Justice Douglas quoted in the Bandy case the purpose of bail is to assume the forfeiture of one’s goods will be an effective deterrent to the temptation to break the conditions of one’s release. It would be unconstitutional to fix bail that is excessive and unfair as seen in Brady v United States.

“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted ‘‘This traditional right to freedom before conviction permits the unhampered preparation of a defense, and serves to prevent the infliction of punishment prior to conviction. . . . Unless this right to bail before trial is preserved, the presumption of innocence, secured only after centuries of struggle, would lose its meaning.’’  (“Eighth Amendment”).

I expect this right to go unfettered where the judges will have little to no discretion in setting outlandish bails for allowing judge’s discretion would make citizens inalienable rights before convicted unconstitutional. There are certain bails set for certain crimes to protect citizens just in case the accused is guilty. Any fettering would be unconstitutional.

References

Civics Library of the Missouri Bar (2010) Retrieved June 29, 2010 from, http://members.mobar.org/civics/Bail.htm

Eighth Amendment (2010) Retrieved June 29, 2010 from, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/pdf/con019.pdf