A LAW OF PASSION, NOT OF PRINCIPLE, NOR EVEN PURPOSE: A CALL TO REPEAL OR REVISE THE ADAM WALSH ACT AMENDMENTS TO THE BAIL REFORM ACT OF 1984.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	A LAW OF PASSION, NOT OF PRINCIPLE, NOR EVEN PURPOSE: A CALL TO REPEAL OR REVISE THE ADAM WALSH ACT AMENDMENTS TO THE BAIL REFORM ACT OF 1984.
Authors:	Handler, Michael R.
Source:	Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. Winter2011, Vol. 101 Issue 1, p279-308. 30p.
Subjects:	Bail Reform Act of 1984, Legislative amendments, United States. Congress, Due process of law, Constitutional law
Geographic Terms:	United States
Abstract:	The Bail Reform Act of 1984 lays out the rules and procedures for federal pretrial release and detention. In 2006, as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, Congress amended the Bail Reform Act. Before the Adam Walsh Act Amendments (AWA Amendments) were passed, a judicial officer decided whether to release a defendant, whether to impose pretrial release conditions, and what pretrial release conditions to impose on a case-by-case basis. The AWA Amendments, in contrast, impose mandatory pretrial release conditions, including electronic monitoring and curfew, on all defendants charged with certain enumerated sexual offenses against children. Many district courts have found mandatory imposition of pretrial release conditions unconstitutional and refuse to apply the AWA Amendments when setting bail. This Comment argues that Congress must repeal or revise the AWA Amendments to the Bail Reform Act of 1984 because they are unconstitutional under the Excessive Bail and Due Process Clauses, are completely inconsistent with the Bail Reform Act's core principle of individualized judicial determination of bail, and come at a great cost to the defendant at little or no additional benefit to the public. This Comment proposes that the AWA Amendments be revised so that certain pretrial release conditions are imposed based on a rebuttable presumption instead of mandatorily, as in, a judge will impose them unless a defendant can rebut their imposition with evidence that the conditions are unnecessary to ensure the public's safety. This proposed revision not only fulfills Congress's original purpose of increased safety in enacting the AWA Amendments, but it is also constitutional and consistent with the rest of the Bail Reform Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is the property of Northwestern University School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

Description
Abstract:	The Bail Reform Act of 1984 lays out the rules and procedures for federal pretrial release and detention. In 2006, as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, Congress amended the Bail Reform Act. Before the Adam Walsh Act Amendments (AWA Amendments) were passed, a judicial officer decided whether to release a defendant, whether to impose pretrial release conditions, and what pretrial release conditions to impose on a case-by-case basis. The AWA Amendments, in contrast, impose mandatory pretrial release conditions, including electronic monitoring and curfew, on all defendants charged with certain enumerated sexual offenses against children. Many district courts have found mandatory imposition of pretrial release conditions unconstitutional and refuse to apply the AWA Amendments when setting bail. This Comment argues that Congress must repeal or revise the AWA Amendments to the Bail Reform Act of 1984 because they are unconstitutional under the Excessive Bail and Due Process Clauses, are completely inconsistent with the Bail Reform Act's core principle of individualized judicial determination of bail, and come at a great cost to the defendant at little or no additional benefit to the public. This Comment proposes that the AWA Amendments be revised so that certain pretrial release conditions are imposed based on a rebuttable presumption instead of mandatorily, as in, a judge will impose them unless a defendant can rebut their imposition with evidence that the conditions are unnecessary to ensure the public's safety. This proposed revision not only fulfills Congress's original purpose of increased safety in enacting the AWA Amendments, but it is also constitutional and consistent with the rest of the Bail Reform Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	00914169