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Wisconsin Watch is a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news outlet. We increase the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Our work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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To increase the quality, quantity and understanding of investigative journalism to foster an informed citizenry and strengthen democracy.
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Wisconsin Watch values truth and pursues it through accurate, fair, independent, rigorous and nonpartisan reporting. We also value transparency, collaboration, innovation and a spirit of public service. These values guide Wisconsin Watch’s training of journalists and its investigations, which seek to protect the interests of people in vulnerable circumstances, expose wrongdoing and deficiencies in systems, and explore solutions to problems.
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Protect the vulnerable. Expose wrongdoing. Explore solutions.
Wisconsin Watch intern Francisco Velazquez helped create a spreadsheet of credibly accused priests that grew to at least 170 names. Dee J. Hall / Wisconsin Watch
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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 athird 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.
