'Cash Bail' and 'Money Bail' are terms used to describe what happens when someone is arrested and has to pay money to be able to be released pending a hearing. If you are arrested, you often have to pay a certain amount of money in order to be free prior to your trial. And if you can't pay, you might spend weeks and months in jail waiting for your chance to prove your innocence. With that length of stay, people can and do lose their jobs, their housing, and sometimes even their children.
Reform efforts across the country are trying to implement systems that would assign risk to alleged offenders--balancing the protection of the public with our obligation to ensure that people are innocent until proven guilty. Our Indiana Supreme Court adopted Rule 26 in 2016, which goes fully into effect statewide on January 1, 2018, in an attempt to limit the use of money bail to certain offenses and to those who are flight risks or a public danger.
Come hear from Pat Schrems about the cash bail system and how it might be reformed. Pat Schrems is the Deputy Public Defender at Monroe County Public Defender's Office. Additional speakers to be announced.