Editing Bail (section)

=== United States ===
{{Main|Bail in the United States}}
[[File:Bail Bonds Longview Texas.jpg|thumb|[[Bail bondsman]] in [[Longview, Texas]].]]
The [[Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution|8th Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]] states, "Excessive bail shall not be required", thus establishing bail as a constitutionally-protected right.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_States_of_America_1992|title=United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992)|website=www.constituteproject.org|access-date=25 August 2018}}</ref> What constitutes "excessive" is a matter of judicial discretion, and bail ''can'' be denied if the judge feels that it will not aid in forcing the accused back to trial. Money bail is the most common form of bail in the United States and the term "bail" often specifically refers to such a deposit,<ref name="helland2">{{cite journal |last1 = Helland |first1 = Eric |last2 = Tabarrok |first2 = Alexander |year = 2004 |title = The Fugitive: Evidence on Public versus Private Law Enforcement from Bail Jumping |url=http://www.americanbailcoalition.com/pdf_files/PublicvsPrivate.pdf/ |journal = The Journal of Law and Economics |volume = 47 |issue = 1 |pages = 93–122 |doi = 10.1086/378694 |s2cid = 10321131 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009220335/http://www.americanbailcoalition.com/pdf_files/PublicvsPrivate.pdf/ |archive-date = 9 October 2007 }}</ref>{{rp|2}} but other forms of pre-trial release are permitted; this varies by state.

Many states have a "bail schedule" that lists the recommended bail amount for a given criminal charge. At the first court appearance (the [[arraignment]]), the judge can set the bail at the amount listed on the schedule or at a different amount based on the specific facts of the crime and the person accused.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pre-trial Court Appearances in a Criminal Case|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/pretrial_appearances.html|website=American Bar Association|access-date=18 July 2017}}</ref>

A common criticism of bail in the United States is that a suspect's likelihood of being released is significantly affected by their economic status<ref name="Shalom, Alexander 20142">Shalom, Alexander. "Bail Reform as a Mass Incarceration Reduction Technique". ''Rutgers Law Review'' 4 (2014): 921. ''InfoTrac LegalTrac''. Web. 15 March 2016.</ref> and systemic racial bias.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/28/us/bail-california-bill/index.html|title=California eliminates cash bail|first=Madison |last=Park|website=CNN|date=29 August 2018|access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref> Once detained pretrial, these economically disadvantaged people have been shown to experience conditions in jails that improperly induce guilty pleas (whether or not they are factually or legally guilty).<ref>{{citation|journal=Journal of Criminal Justice|volume=82|issue=4|date=2022|title=How do the consequences of pretrial detention on guilty pleas and carceral sentences vary between misdemeanor and felony cases?|author=Thomas, C. |author2=Cadoff, B. |author3=Wolff, K. T. |author4=Chauhan, P.|page=102008 |doi=10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2022.102008 |s2cid=253991546 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365754233}}</ref> In response, in 2014 New Jersey and Alaska abolished cash bail for all but a limited number of court cases; and in 2023, Illinois abolished cash bail. Though the California legislature attempted to eliminate cash bail in 2018, this change was vetoed by [[2020 California Proposition 25|California Proposition 25]] in November 2020. In 2019, New York passed [[2019 New York bail reform|bail reform]] legislation that took effect on 1 January 2020, eliminating cash bail for many misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges. However, this law was later narrowed by the governor due to public pushback led by prosecutors and law enforcement officials.