87: Bail or Bust

Hundreds of people in cities throughout the US have been arrested for participating in Black Lives Matter protests.  In Chicago, a judge set one protestor's bail at $350,000. To "make bail" he will have to present the court with the money or property as s promise, a sort of collateral, that he will return for his hearing in exchange for his freedom while he awaits trial. When he appears for his trial, he will get his money back."There really are two systems of justice. There’s one for people who can make bail, and one for people who can’t." - Josh Saunders, Public Defender Possibly this protestor and others like him will have help raising the funds to post his bail. But what if a person who has been accused of a crime has been arrested and doesn't have enough money, or access to property, to make bail?  Each year some 45,000 people in New York City alone are arrested and sent to jail who can't make bail. That means they either stay in jail until their trial takes place, which can be months down the road, or they plead guilty without a trial. This summer Life of the Law presents the best and the brightest new voices in investigative reporting and audio production. This story is from Ariel Ritchin of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Ariel has taken a hard look at what it takes to make bail. PRODUCTION NOTES Bail or Bust was reported by Ariel Ritchin and edited by Kerry Donahue and Nancy Mullane, with production support from Jonathan Hirsch and Kirsten Jusewicz-Haidle. Ceil Muller of KQED Radio in San Francisco was our engineer. Special thanks to WNYC and New York 1. Music in this episode is from Blue Dot Sessions and K2. This episode of Life of the Law was funded in part by grants from the Open Society Foundations, the Law and Society Association, the Proteus Fund, the Ford Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Bail or Bust was sponsored by The Great Courses Plus.com/law. © Copyright 2016 Life of the Law. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices