An executive order directs withholding or revocation of federal funds from state and local governments that adopt cashless bail, citing public safety concerns. The attorney general must provide a 30-day list of jurisdictions that substantially eliminated cash bail for crimes posing clear threats to safety and order. Proponents view cashless bail as a penalty on poverty that advantages wealthy defendants. Critics argue traditional cash bail helps ensure court appearances and prevents potentially dangerous defendants from committing additional crimes while awaiting trial. Cashless bail allows release without payment, and Illinois eliminated cash bail under the SAFE-T Act, upheld in 2023.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday threatening to withhold or revoke federal funding to local and state governments that offer cashless bail, arguing that it is a threat to public safety. No cash. Come back in a couple of months, we'll give you a trial. You never see the person again, he said, moments before signing the order.
Proponents of eliminating cash bail describe it as a penalty on poverty, suggesting that the wealthy can pay their way out of jail to await trial while those with fewer financial resources have to sit it out behind bars. Critics of the cashless route have argued that bail is a time-honored way to ensure defendants released from jail show up for court proceedings. They warn that violent criminals will be released pending trial, giving them license to commit other crimes.
Cashless bail refers to policies that allow people to be released from jail without paying any money while they await trial. It is an alternative to the traditional cash bail system in which which people pay money to be released and get their money back if they return to court when they are supposed to. The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits excessive bail.
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