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To: jakerobins

Isn’t there something in the Bill of Rights about “Excessive Bail”?


6 posted on 07/05/2012 9:05:37 AM PDT by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: Don Corleone

Since Obungo came into office everyone has been instructed to ignore the Constitution. I think jurists just flip a coin nowadays.....


10 posted on 07/05/2012 9:09:34 AM PDT by jakerobins
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To: Don Corleone

Main article: Excessive Bail Clause

In England, sheriffs originally determined whether to grant bail to criminal suspects. Since they tended to abuse their power, Parliament passed a statute in 1275 whereby bailable and non-bailable offenses were defined. The King’s judges often subverted the provisions of the law. It was held that an individual may be held without bail upon the Sovereign’s command. Eventually, the Petition of Right of 1628 argued that the King did not have such authority. Later, technicalities in the law were exploited to keep the accused imprisoned without bail even where the offenses were bailable; such loopholes were for the most part closed by the Habeas Corpus Act 1679. Thereafter, judges were compelled to set bail, but they often required impracticable amounts. Finally, the English Bill of Rights (1689) held that “excessive bail ought not to be required.” Nevertheless, the Bill did not determine the distinction between bailable and non-bailable offenses. Thus, the Eighth Amendment has been interpreted to mean that bail may be denied if the charges are sufficiently serious. The Supreme Court has also permitted “preventive” detention without bail.

In United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739 (1987), the Supreme Court held that the only limitation imposed by the bail clause is that “the government’s proposed conditions of release or detention not be ‘excessive’ in light of the perceived evil.”


30 posted on 07/05/2012 9:30:00 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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