ATTORNEY PAUL A. KSICINSKI 414-530-5214
ATTORNEY PAUL A. KSICINSKI
TOP 100 WISCONSIN CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER
​414-530-5214
  • Home
  • References
  • PEER ENDORSEMENTS
  • PAST CASES
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
  • How to deal with police
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Criminal Law Links
  • News

Discussion of current legal issues

Henry Nellum case selected by USA Network as a compelling homicide trial to keep an eye on in 2018

Button Text

HOW PROSECUTORS USE BAIL JUMPING CHARGES TO COERCE GUILTY PLEAS

7/10/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture

After you are arrested and assuming you were able to post bail to get your release, your continued release on the charge can be conditioned upon you following rules imposed by the court.
Appearing under the subchapter of Wisconsin law relating to interference with law enforcement, the offense of bail jumping is clearly defined under Wisconsin State Statute 946.49:
946.49  Bail jumping.
(1)  Whoever, having been released from custody under ch. 969, intentionally fails to comply with the terms of his or her bond is:
(a) If the offense with which the person is charged is a misdemeanor, guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(b) If the offense with which the person is charged is a felony, guilty of a Class H felony.
 
Importantly, a bail jumping charge can make something that is not a crime, such as missing a drug test or simply drinking alcohol (even if you are an addict or alcoholic), or a minor charge like disorderly conduct, transform into a felony carrying a penalty of up to six years in prison.
 
The cost to taxpayers for this prosecutorial sleight-of-hand is enormous.  The State Public Defender's Office  has indicated it could have saved about $770,000 in 2016 if the 8,147 felony bail jumping cases it handled were charged as misdemeanors, not as felonies.  Gov. Scott Walker did not include the idea in his 2017-19 budget proposal.
 
Now a new article has appeared displaying new prosecutorial chicanery when it comes to bail jumping charges.   In a Wisconsin Law Review article entitled, “THE USE OF WISCONSIN’S BAIL JUMPING STATUTE:  A LEGAL AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS” Amy Johnson explains that:

Analysis of the data from the Wisconsin Consolidated Court Automation Programs reveals that bail jumping charges have increased significantly over time. The data also suggests that an underlying purpose for filing bail jumping charges may be to create leverage against defendants to induce them to plead to their original charge rather than to punish them for violating their bond conditions. While not conclusive as to causation, the correlation between bail jumping charge dismissals and pleas to other charges cannot be ignored. The data also reveals that the treatment of bail jumping varies greatly county to county suggesting that a defendant’s geographic location within the state can result in significantly different outcomes.
 
As State Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) has indicated, “If you’re really serious about reducing the prison population and reform and taking caseloads off DAs, and public defenders and the courts, you have to attack and reform various ways the system is creating its own problem.”
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    These are reflections I have had about our criminal justice system.  Some of it may make sense, some of it might not.

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.