Big Boyz Bail Bonds posted a bond in Baltimore City Central Booking for a defendant from Montreal, Canada. The defendant was here for a college sailing regatta that was supposed to take place in Annapolis. Unfortunately for our client, he was unable to compete due to being arrested in Baltimore City on very petty misdemeanor charges. The charge is considered "a college prank" by his attorney Brian Thompson of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin, and White.
The Baltimore Sun has written an interesting article as a result of this event questioning the functionality of the bail system. Our client was not the only person arrested during this event. There were three people in total being charged with the same charges. One commissioner set bail in the amount of $1,000 for a female. The two males involved received a $175,000 bail. Big Boyz Bail Bonds posted one of the males. The other defendant hired former federal prosecutor Andy White of Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin, and White to represent him at bail review. The bail review judge lowered the bond in line of the female co-defendant and set his bond at $1,000.
There is certainly a lot of information that a district court commissioner has to take into consideration when setting a bail for a person charged with a crime. The two underlying factors are the defendant's ability to show up for court and if the defendant poses a danger to himself or the public. With our client being from Canada, there is certainly some element of flight involved. With the "college prank" nature of the charges, many would argue that these accused defendants are not a danger at all. So how does one commissioner set bail at $1,000 and the next set bail at $175,000?
Any way you look at it. This is one of MANY issues concerning the bail bonds system here in Maryland. There are arguments that can be made that the state could survive without corporate bail while others would argue it's an absolute necessity in a city with an overflow crime rate. We hope that everyone reads the article to gain some additional perspective on this industry as a whole.
