Pretrial Program Story Misstates Bill, Costs

To the Editor:

I read with a measure of shock and awe your article titled, and would like the opportunity to correct some bold misstatements contained therein. 

One doesn’t have to go too deep into the story to read the first and most breath-taking error, “Last year a bill in the Florida House of Representative would have abolished a program used in 28 counties to allow supervised release of persons accused of a crime.” 

There was no such bill.  It didn’t exist. 

There was however a bill that would have put some modest restrictions on government-funded pretrial release programs.  These restrictions were narrow in scope and essentially said that these programs — which, as you note in your piece, were originally created to provide assistance to those who cannot afford bail — should be primarily for those who (shocking) cannot afford bail.  

The bill also went on to say that if someone, even a wealthy person, did not post bail in the first 48 hours, he or she would also be eligible for government-paid pretrial release.  Additionally, the bill did not affect all 28 counties that have these programs, as your article stated, but only the 12 largest counties in the states.  (So, for example, these programs in Manatee County would not have been touched.)

To be clear, nothing in the bill would have “abolished” anything. 

It may have slowed its dramatic rise.  It may have gently nudged it back towards its original mission.  It may have even saved taxpayers millions (these “low cost” programs cost Florida taxpayers $26 million per year.) But to say it would “abolish” these programs is akin to saying a modest decrease in someone’s taxes would eliminate all forms of government.  It doesn’t compute.

Which brings me to my second point. 

The proponents of these government-financed pretrial programs love to compare the cost of pretrial release (you cite $1.91 and $3.20 per day in two separate counties) with the cost of a day in jail ($67 and $71 respectively.)

“Wow,” a reader might exclaim.  “$1.91 versus $67 per day, that’s a great deal for taxpayers. 

That reader would be wrong because he had been misled.

The cost comparison should be $1.91 per day for pretrial release versus $0 per day for bail. Why? Because bail costs taxpayers nothing.

 In fact, bail saves tax dollars, can actually put money in the coffers of the courts, has a much higher success rate than pretrial programs (according to the U.S. Department of Justice) and requires defendants to foot their own bill for release.  But to compare the cost of taxpayer funded pretrial release to the cost of time in jail as a way to say it is better than bail is akin to comparing apples to pomegranates.

I would like to close on a positive note.  In the article you stated, “For people without sufficient funds to bond out, the pre-trial system is their only alternative to staying in jail for minor infractions.”

That is absolutely true.

And it is exactly why we should support keeping pretrial programs and why they should be restricted to just those who need it.  As we grow government programs beyond their original scope, those programs lose their way and begin “serving” those who do not need it.

Why should taxpayers foot the bill for someone who can easily afford to pay for their own bail?  Why should a person of means become a ward of the state?

They shouldn’t. 

Pretrial release was established to help ensure that an arrest for a relatively minor offense did not cause someone who is poor to have his or her life ruined.  But these programs, like many well-intended government schemes, have grown well beyond their original scope.  They have grown to the point where pretrial protectionists will verbally assault anyone who seeks to modestly rein in these programs to their original intent.  And in doing so, they falsely use terms like “abolish” when they should be saying, “restrict.”

Pomegranates indeed.

Peter Antonacci is an attorney with the law firm of GreyRobinson and is the former statewide prosecutor.