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Beyond Bail

This series explores the use of cash bail in Wisconsin and around the country.

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Bail bond industry fights back against moves to limit or end cash bail

Nonprofit bail funds help poor gain freedom nationally and in Wisconsin

Bail is defined in Wisconsin statutes as “monetary conditions of release,” but is often used interchangeably with bond.

Bond is a form of security to ensure a defendant’s appearance at future court dates. It can be in the form of cash, property or their signature.

Cash bond, or cash bail, is an amount of money defendants have to pay to be released from jail while their cases are pending. The money is returned to them if they show up to court and comply with the conditions of their release, unless the defendant owes restitution or other fees to the court. Then, the bail money would first be applied to those fees.

If the judge orders a signature bond, the defendant signs a promise to return to court and is released without having to post cash. This is sometimes called being released on one’s own recognizance. Signature bonds often still have a specified monetary amount attached to them, which defendants may have to pay if they miss court or violate the terms of their release.

Pretrial is the period from arrest through case resolution.

Pretrial detention, also called preventative detention, is the practice of detaining potentially dangerous defendants without bail as they wait for their court dates.

A bail bondsman is a third party who pledges to pay the full cash bond amount if a defendant fails to appear for court. The defendant is released after paying a non-refundable fee, usually 10 percent of the bond amount, to the bail bondsman. Wisconsin is among the few states to have outlawed this practice.

The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

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Emily Hamer is a recent graduate of UW–Madison with degrees in journalism and philosophy. She has formerly worked as an intern for University Communications and WisPolitics, and as an editor at The Badger Herald newspaper.