State Senators Hear Testimony on Bill that Could Result in Higher Bail

Monday, October 2nd, 2023 -- 12:00 PM

(By Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) State senators heard testimony this week on a bill that could result in higher bail for thousands of people who are charged with crimes in Wisconsin.

According to Sarah Lehr with Wisconsin Public Radio, legislation introduced this month would require a judge or court commissioner to set bail of at least $5,000 when a defendant has a past bail jumping conviction.

The requirement would apply even for non-violent misdemeanor charges like disorderly conduct or retail theft. Republican sponsors, like Sen. Julian Bradley of Franklin, say the aim is protecting public safety.

"Far too many repeat offenders and bail jumpers are being released on low or no cash bail only for them to commit another crime," Bradley told the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. "This is happening because soft-on-crime judges and DAs (district attorneys) aren't prioritizing public safety."

But Amanda Merkwae of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin says the bill would drastically increase the number of Wisconsinites held in jail before trial, while furthering economic and racial divides between those who can afford to post bail and those who can't.

"When you think about the risk of job loss, the risk of losing housing, the impact on child custody and parental rights ... for folks that are even spending a few days or weeks or months incarcerated pretrial, it's not keeping our state or our communities safer," she said.  "With overflowing jails, I don't know how counties could absorb the costs of providing care for more folks that would be detained pretrial."

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