Alabama legislator prefiles bill to change bail system in the state
A pair of handcuffs poking through prison bars. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, has filed a bill that would give judges the authority to set a percentage bond instead of the full amount. (File/Getty)
A state representative has filed a bill that could overhaul Alabama's approach to bail.
HB 42 , sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, would give a judge the authority to allow defendants to pay a percentage of their bail amounts to be released from pretrial detention.
When people are placed into custody after an arrest, they can secure their release by paying a preset amount of bail, based on the offense the person is charged with. Individuals who pay the full amount can be released, and that amount is kept with the court until their case is resolved. That deposit is returned so long as they continue to appear in court.
Those unable to pay the full amount can secure the services of a bail bond company who will charge a premium for their services, typically quoted at 10% of the value of the bond, which they pocket. The person is then released, and the bail bond company takes over the responsibility to ensure the defendant appears in court.
Under the Alabama Bail Reform Act of 1993, a defendant or their loved ones must deposit the total amount of the cash bail that is set with the court to win release while the case proceeds.
HB 42 would allow a court to accept a percentage of the bail.
Alabama courts allowed people to post percentage bonds for decades until the bail reform act ended that practice, according to England.
"As it happens, sometimes the industry writes legislation, and the bail bonding industry wrote that bill to benefit themselves," he said. "When you can't get percentage bonds, that means you are required to use a bonding company."
England's legislation could allow defendants to bypass a bail bonding company to secure their release from pretrial detention.
Under England's bill, a defendant who fails to appear for court would lose their bail. If the individual uses a bail bond company, the company is then liable for the full amount of the bond. If the company does not return the individual to court, it must pay the court the total or risk losing their license.
The state issues a fee at 3.5% of the value of the bond or $100, whichever is greater, that gets distributed for different uses. This includes money for the district attorney's office.
"When you can't get a percentage bond, that means you are required to use a bail bonding company," England said. "That means the money that would normally be going into the court system, in defendants spending their money to pay restitution, fines and court costs toward their cases. Now, since judges can't give percentage bonds anymore, they have to go to a bondsman, so that money never comes into the court system."
Courts continue to be underfunded in the state, from district attorneys' offices to court operations, compelling state officials to resort to fines and fees to assist with funding the judicial system.
The Alabama Bail Bond Association is opposed to England's bill because it allows defendants to leave custody of the jail without the guarantee to appear in court.
"If you are able to post a percentage bond, and if you go to jail today in the same scenario, and a $1,000 cash bond, and you just pay the $100 and walk out, there is nobody to tap you on the shoulder to say, 'Hey, you have to be back in court,'" said Chris McNeil, president of the Alabama Bail Bond Association. "The system stops when that defendant doesn't show up for court. That is why we are opposed to it, because we want the system to move forward, the victim wants the system to move forward, and the DA wants the system to move forward."
From their perspective, bail bond companies perform a service by pushing for their clients to appear in court, and in some instances retrieving them when they fail to appear. Victor Howard, who operates A Discount Bonding Company based in Huntsville, said that he issues reminders to clients for their court appearances and, sometimes, even provides rides to the courthouse. Howard also serves as vice president of the Alabama Bail Bond Association.
Both cited figures of differences in the rates that defendants fail to appear for court, with a higher percentage failing to appear when a bail bond company is not used as part of the process.
"The data is really all over the place," said Allie Preston, senior policy analyst for criminal justice reform with the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. "Many cities have shown that, when they decrease bail, the failure to appear rates decrease and more people are showing up to court."
Those advocating for bail reform support the measure because it decreases the amount that people will pay to be released for pretrial confinement but admit that more progress for a system that disproportionately affects low-income households .
"I don't think this is a panacea, nor would it necessarily solve the problem created by a system of wealth-based detention that results from the application of cash bail in any circumstances," said Jeremy Cherson, The Bail Project's communication director, a nonprofit that advocates for ending the cash bail system.
