No. of Recommendations: 5
How was this crime avoidable?
As we discussed in the last thread, the state generally can't just take away your liberties based on an accusation of a crime - even if you have a past criminal record. Most states have laws preventing that from happening. So if we turn to Texas law, we find Article 17.028 of the Texas Penal Code governing bail decisions, which provides:
* * *
"(b) In setting bail under this article, the magistrate
shall impose the least restrictive conditions, if any, and the personal bond or cash or surety bond necessary to reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense.
(c) In each criminal case, unless specifically provided by other law, there is a
rebuttable presumption that bail, conditions of release, or both bail and conditions of release are sufficient to reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense."
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CR/htm/CR....* * *
Emphasis added. The general principle behind these statutes (and most other penal codes) is that the state can't impose the penalty for a crime (imprisonment) before a determination of guilt on that crime (the trial) has taken place. This is a generally
conservative principle - conservatives are suspicious of the exercise of governmental power, and there are few governmental powers greater than the power to imprison at the barrel of a gun anyone physically present within their state.
Obviously, the facts as reported in the news snippets are incomplete - we don't know what specific crimes the defendant was accused of before being given pre-trial release, nor the specifics of his past criminal proceedings. But if the defendant had a prior consistent record of showing up to court and not committing further crimes while on bond during his prior pre-trial releases, it's pretty unlikely that the magistrate would have had any legal authority to order his detention on the current charges.
