Los Angeles Charger LB Held Without Bail in Los Angeles on Assault Weapon Charges–How is California’s Bail System Like Pennsylvania and Not Like New Jersey
What Happened in This Case
Vehicle Stops are one of the most common ways criminal cases come to our criminal defense law firm in Pennsylvania and New Jersey where we represent person charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes! I have written in a countless number of blogs and done videos on vehicle stops for this reason. Recently, South Los Angeles Station authorities arrested Los Angeles Charger LB Denzel Perryman following a vehicle stop. During the stop police discovered five firearms in his vehicle. Two of the weapons were assault style rifles.
Perryman is currently being held without bail. While his criminal defense lawyer will need to determine and evaluate the reasonable suspicion and probable cause for the initial stop along with trial defenses, the initial hurdle is getting Mr. Perryman released on bail. If Perryman is not released on bail, he will remain in custody until this case ends either at trial or following a plea before the court.
Bail in California
This case presents a good opportunity to compare the bail systems in California with Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In California, like Pennsylvania and New Jersey, a bail hearing is a legal proceeding where a criminal court judge decides whether to release a defendant from custody while awaiting trial. Like California, Pennsylvania maintains a cash bail system for the most part. This means that a judge determines an amount that person needs to pay to be released. This amount varies based on the type of the offense, the person’s prior criminal history and contacts to the community. This is different from New Jersey’s bail system.
There are situations where a judge can deny bail but these are vary limited situations. This does not often occur in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is usually only reserved for situations where a person is facing a life sentence. In California, however, a judge must determine you are an imminent threat to public safety.
This is what occurred in Perryman case but I believe his criminal defense attorneys will challenge this ruling and he will be released on bail at some point. It is likely that Perryman will be able to satisfy conditions that the Court will find acceptable .
They also consider factual findings about the risk to the community if the defendant were to be released, the likelihood the defendant will return to court if released on bail, and by weighing the evidence presented by the prosecutor and defense attorney.
What is New Jersey’s Bail System? How is different than Pennsylvania and California?
New Jersey, unlike Pennsylvania and California, maintains a non-monetary pre-trial bail system not based on cash, but rather legal arguments from your New Jersey criminal defense lawyer, and risk factors.
Why aren’t all people released prior to trial/plea on bail in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, a Defendant may be detained (held in jail) if the State proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that no release conditions would reasonably assure the Defendant’s appearance in Court, the safety of the community, or the integrity of the criminal justice process. See 2A:162-18 (a).
California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have similar bail systems but the major difference is money. Judges in Pennsylvania and California assign a dollar amount to compensate for high risk factors.
In many ways, the New Jersey system is much better as it does not punish a person simply for not having the ability to pay his or her way out of jail prior to trial. All persons in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are entitled to bail (except Murder—life sentence allegation)
There is a rebuttable presumption for release on bail in New Jersey and the Prosecutor has the burden to overcome that presumption of release!
There is a rebuttable presumption of release under the law with conditions (See Rule 3:4A(b)(5)). A Prosecutor, however, can seek pre-trial detention for serious crimes, including alleged Graves Act offenses or crimes that carry a life sentence. A Court, however, may consider a recommendation against release as prima facia evidence that the State has overcome the presumption of release.
This recommendation is made in the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), which assigns a score to the Defendant based on the likelihood to appear at trial and the risk for future criminal activity. If the recommendation is for release, the Court can consider that as prima facia evidence that the State has not overcome the presumption of release.
If the State overcomes the presumption for release, the Court must consider pre-trial release with reasonable conditions (See 2A:162-19(c)). To decide if release is warranted, the Court must consider any combination of conditions which would reasonably guard against the risk of flight, danger, or obstruction.
The Court may take into account a number of factors, including the following:
- The nature of the offense.
- The weight of the evidence.
- The Defendant’s history and characteristics.
- The nature of the risk of danger and obstruction to justice the Defendant poses.
- The Public Safety Assessment release recommendation.
Does it matter if the Prosecution has a strong case against an accused person?
An important factor which the Court will consider is the weight of the evidence. This basically means whether or not the prosecution has a strong case against the Defendant, which would indicate a likely conviction at trial.
The weight of the evidence is an important factor because it reflects whether a person is likely to appear or poses a danger to a person or the community. Assuming there is probable cause to believe the Defendant committed the offense, or the evidence is weak, the Defendant may be more willing to take the State to trial which would likely reduce the risk of failing to appear. Further, if the evidence is weak, the Court may consider that the Defendant is less likely to pose a danger to the community.
What Should You Do if You Charged With A Crime?
If you’re charged with a serious crime in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, bail will likely be an issue which your criminal defense attorney can address at a hearing before a Judge. This is also the first opportunity to challenge the strength of the prosecution’s case. I do not advise ever to appear at a bail hearing without a criminal defense lawyer!
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