Bail and the need for bail reform is a hot topic these days.  In January of this year, Ohio’s Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor convened a task force, chaired by Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Katherine Huffman,  to study Ohio’s bail system. The report, just released, includes these nine recommendations for the Ohio Supreme Court’s consideration:

RECOMMENDATION 1: Require a validated risk assessment tool be available to the judge in every municipal, county, and common pleas court when setting bond or conditions of bond.

RECOMMENDATION 2: Ohio’s Superintendence Rule 5, Local Rules, should be amended to require counties with more than one municipal or county court to adopt a uniform bond schedule to be used by each court in the county.

RECOMMENDATION 3: The Task Force recommends the Supreme Court of Ohio adopt the amendments to Crim.R. 46 as proposed by the Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure as reflected in Appendix A.

RECOMMENDATION 4: Crim.R. 44 should be amended to require the presence of counsel for the defendant at the initial appearance for any offense carrying the potential penalty of confinement, unless the defendant is being released on an unsecured financial condition or on personal recognizance. The rule shall not impede or delay the judge’s ability to release a defendant on his or her own recognizance or an unsecured financial condition.

RECOMMENDATION 5: Pretrial services in Ohio courts should be tailored to offer appropriate supervision and services that correspond to the level of a defendant’s risk/needs. The Task Force further recommends that the release of a person not be predicated on their ability to pay for pretrial services.

RECOMMENDATION 6: Courts should consider all alternatives to pretrial detention. The Task Force further recommends that the release of a person not be predicated on their ability to pay for pretrial services.

RECOMMENDATION 7: Courts should leverage technology solutions, such as text/email reminders and remote video conferencing, to implement low-cost improvements to pretrial services in Ohio courts.

RECOMMENDATION 8: Education and training should be offered and encouraged for court personnel, including judges, clerks of court, prosecutors, defense counsel, and other stakeholders critical to the pretrial process. This education should include information on alternatives to pretrial detention and the use of a validated risk assessment tool.

RECOMMENDATION 9: Implement a statewide, uniform data collection system to ensure a fair, effective, and fiscally efficient pretrial process.