The Nature of Bail Decisionmaking in Dade County

Abstract

Initially, the Judicial Steering Committee in Dade County directed the research staff to examine bail and pretrial release practices for both misdemeanor and felony defendants. After discussion of the preliminary results at the first few meetings, the committee requested that we focus our attention on cases being processed as potentially bondable felonies.¹The path taken by felony cases was quite different from the one followed by misdemeanors. Dade County felony arrestees were booked at the central pretrial-detention facility to await a bond hearing. The bond hearing, presided over by a county court judge during the week and a circuit court judge on weekends, could be held very shortly after arrest or as much as 12 hours later, depending on the timing of the arrest and the next scheduled court session. Theoretically, all bondable defendants were interviewed by pretrial services staff before the bond hearing; however, felony defendants had the opportunity to pay their bond as specified by a bond schedule, or to have the money posted by a friend, a relative, or a bondsman.