Many of you have heard about the proposed constitution amendment that will be on the ballot in April. This amendment that would make it harder for violent criminals to get out of jail on bail. If passed, the governor is unable to veto the change.
What does this all mean?
In a 74-23 vote, the Assembly passed a proposed amendment to the state constitution. It would allow court commissioners to consider a defendant's past violent criminal history, as well as the seriousness of the alleged charges.
Currently, courts can only consider how likely a defendant is to flee if allowed to go free between court appearances.
Violent crime, and specifically bail, has been in the spotlight in recent years. Milwaukee has recorded a record-high number of homicides in each of the past three years.
The bail issue gained more publicity after the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade attack, when Darrell Brooks was convicted of driving through the parade, killing six people and injuring dozens more.
How does Wisconsin’s bail system currently work?
In Wisconsin, if someone is arrested for a crime and charges have been filed against them, they appear in front of a court commissioner for an initial appearance. At that hearing, the court commissioner considers the conditions, if any, that someone can be released while their criminal case is pending.
Posting bail can be a condition of release. However, as the state’s bail laws currently exist, judges can impose “monetary conditions of release … only upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the conditions are necessary to assure appearance in court.”
In other words, a court commissioner can only set a cash bail amount if there is reason to think the person making an initial appearance might not show up for their next court date.
During the initial appearance, a prosecutor will make a request as it pertains to bail. Often, the state requests the accused simply sign a piece of paper — a “signature bond” — saying they will return for their next court date as required.
Having some money on the line, she said, might convince someone to show up when they might not otherwise be inclined to do so.
Beyond bail, a court commissioner or judge can also set conditions to someone’s release that “protect members of the community from serious bodily harm or prevent the intimidation of witnesses.”
In some rare instances, for certain felony crimes, the Wisconsin Constitution empowers judges to deny someone charged with a crime from being released before they are convicted.
What would the amendment change?
The amendment would eliminate the requirement that “monetary conditions of release” be implemented “only upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the conditions are necessary to assure appearance in court.”
Instead, it would empower judges, when setting a bail amount, to consider the “seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the accused, the probability that the accused will appear in court, and the need to protect members of the community from serious harm, as defined by the legislature by law, or prevent the intimidation of witnesses.”
It would also remove the word “bodily” from this line of the state Constitution: “All persons, before conviction, shall be eligible for release under reasonable conditions designed to assure their appearance in court, protect members of the community from serious bodily harm or prevent the intimidation of witnesses.”
A separate bill, introduced by Sen. Julian Bradley (R-Franklin) and taken up later in the committee hearing, would set $10,000 mandatory minimum bails for people with past offenses.
Stay tuned for further updates as this issue progresses in 2023.
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