Tuesday, September 02, 2025
Trump’s Tirade against Cashless Bail
Trump’s Executive Order attempting to abolish cashless bail is unjust and inhumane, but what else is new? I explain it in my new column for The Hill. Here is the gist:
Cashless bail is effective and humane, but Trump wants to end it
by Steven Lubet, opinion contributor – 09/02/25
President Trump wants poor people to stay in jail when they are arrested, while still presumed innocent, even if it takes months or years before their cases come to trial.
He didn’t exactly put it that way, of course. But that would be the inevitable consequence of his campaign against cashless bail.
In fact, jurisdictions with cashless bail, more accurately called “personal recognizance,” have no-show rates essentially the same as those requiring cash bail.
After eliminating money bail, Illinois’ no-show rate actually fell from 17 percent to 15 percent. Nor has there been an increase in crime, which continued to drop in Chicago.
In Washington, D.C., which has operated under a mostly non-monetary release system since 1992, about 11 percent of defendants miss court dates, which is consistent with the national rate for federal courts that set cash bail.
As always with Trump, there are serious legal and constitutional problems when he attempts to expand his personal power.
So Trump is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law. But put that aside for now, and consider the very good reasons for eliminating cash bail, making it easier for defendants to secure pretrial release.
You can read the full essay at The Hill, including a personal experience with exorbitant bail from the 1970s.
Posted by Steve Lubet on September 2, 2025 at 08:54 AM | Permalink
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