{ "id": "R40221", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R40221", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 574397, "date": "2017-07-31", "retrieved": "2018-05-10T12:53:12.679954", "title": "Bail: An Overview of Federal Criminal Law", "summary": "This is an overview of the federal law of bail. Bail is the release of an individual following his arrest upon his promise\u2014secured or unsecured; conditioned or unconditioned\u2014to appear at subsequent judicial criminal proceedings. An accused may be denied bail if he is unable to satisfy the conditions set for his release. He may also be denied bail if the committing judge or magistrate concludes that no amount of security or any set of conditions will suffice to ensure public safety or the individual\u2019s later appearance in court.\nThe federal bail statute layers the committing judge\u2019s or magistrate\u2019s bail options after arrest and before trial. He may release the individual upon his promise to return\u2014that is, on personal recognizance or under an unsecured appearance bond. Alternatively, the judge or magistrate may condition the individual\u2019s release on the least restrictive possible combination of individual or statutory conditions. The statute, however, creates a presumption against release when the individual has been charged with a serious drug, firearms, or terrorist offense. In the case of these and other serious offenses, the judge or magistrate may deny release on bail if he decides, after a hearing, that no set of conditions will guarantee public safety or the individual\u2019s return to court. The judge or magistrate may also deny the individual bail in order to transfer him for bail, parole, or supervised release revocation proceedings. Bail is available to a more limited extent after the individual has been convicted and is awaiting a pending appeal.\nFederal law also authorizes the arrest, bail, or detention of individuals with evidence material to the prosecution of a federal offense. With limited variations, federal bail laws apply to arrested material witnesses.\nAlthough not specifically mentioned in the federal bail statute, bail is available in extradition cases under a long-standing Supreme Court precedent which holds that \u201cbail should not ordinarily be granted in cases of foreign extradition\u201d except under \u201cspecial circumstances.\u201d \nThis report is available in an abridged version\u2014without footnotes, appendixes, most of the citations to authority, and some of the discussion\u2014as CRS Report R40222, Bail: An Abridged Overview of Federal Criminal Law, by Charles Doyle.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R40221", "sha1": "581dbbc3d0f53cb9d3a6f9c9e231b51fe893e9e1", "filename": "files/20170731_R40221_581dbbc3d0f53cb9d3a6f9c9e231b51fe893e9e1.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R40221", "sha1": "4e36468d1c20aa43208042628e6d27ae2b2e5f1b", "filename": "files/20170731_R40221_4e36468d1c20aa43208042628e6d27ae2b2e5f1b.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 344435, "date": "2009-01-28", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T02:50:54.485157", "title": "Bail: An Overview of Federal Criminal Law", "summary": "In a criminal law context, bail is most often thought of as the posting of security to ensure the presence of an accused at subsequent judicial proceedings. Existing federal law affords the judge or magistrate four options which it places in descending order of preference. First, he may release the accused on personal recognizance or under an unsecured appearance bond. Second, if the judge or magistrate concludes that personal recognizance or unsecured appearance bond are insufficient to overcome the risk of flight or to community or individual safety, he may condition the individuals\u2019 release on the least restrictive combination of fourteen conditions. Third, he may order him detained for up to ten days to allow for a transfer of custody for purposes of revocation of bail, probation or parole or deportation proceedings. Finally, under some circumstances, the judge or magistrate may order the accused detained prior to trial.\nWhen a defendant appeals following conviction, the judge or magistrate may release him on condition or recognizance, if the judicial official is convinced that the defendant poses neither a flight risk nor a safety concern and that his appeal offers the prospect of success.\nFederal law authorizes the arrest and detention or bail of individuals with evidence material to the prosecution of a federal offense. With limited variations, federal bail laws apply to arrested material witnesses.\nFederal bail laws make no mention of bail in extradition cases. The federal courts instead adhere to the principle announced by the Supreme Court over a century ago that \u201cbail should not ordinarily be granted in cases of foreign extradition\u201d except under \u201cspecial circumstances.\u201d\nThis report is available in an abridged version\u2014without footnotes, appendices, most of the citations to authority, and some of the discussion\u2014as CRS Report R40222, Bail: An Abbreviated Overview of Federal Criminal Law, by Charles Doyle.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R40221", "sha1": "6b74faf0ba1b60d89bbf96b58ef2929abd7cf632", "filename": "files/20090128_R40221_6b74faf0ba1b60d89bbf96b58ef2929abd7cf632.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R40221", "sha1": "856dfd1d99dbf4856e0e2cb03f153eea48595b7f", "filename": "files/20090128_R40221_856dfd1d99dbf4856e0e2cb03f153eea48595b7f.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Intelligence and National Security" ] }