From Bail to Jail? Exploring the Unintended Consequences of a Cash Bail Reform

Abstract

In 2017, Maryland implemented a cash bail reform that sought to reduce the state’s reliance on financial means of pretrial release. This research explores the relationship between the reform and pretrial detention, highlighting shifts in court actor decision-making and trends in defendants’ ability to secure pretrial release. Ultimately, this study finds that the reform resulted in a staggering increase in the proportion of defendants who are held without bail. However, the reform simultaneously resulted in a larger portion of defendants released on recognizance and decreased bail amounts for those assigned financial bail. This study also looks beyond the reform’s influence on court actor decision-making to determine whether defendants’ release outcomes changed, finding that the likelihood of pretrial release increase increased along with average detention lengths. Finally, as bail reforms often seek to reduce racial disparities in pretrial processes, this study inspects the differential effect of the reform on Black and White defendants. Findings from this study contribute to the field’s understanding of the complex pretrial process and underscore critical considerations for the architects of pretrial policy.