*For some time, I have been curious as to how the judicial system works in Carbon County. Recently, a local author, whom I had previously written about, found himself arrested.

What I discovered is that in Carbon County we have a system that works on the premise that an arrested person is guilty until proven innocent—except if the arrested person is wealthy. Here’s what I have observed.

1. In this case, let’s call him John Smith, bail was initially set at $500,000. Amendment 8 of the U.S. Constitution reads, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” For all but the wealthy, $500,000 is excessive bail.

2. When John Smith was arrested, his vehicle was impounded. Impounding costs are $35 a day. By the time Smith learned about the impoundment, arranged to have someone get the keys and the authorization to remove the vehicle, the cumulative charge was severa hundred dollars.

3. Mr. Smith’s personal effects were taken away. This includes his cell phone, which contains the phone numbers of almost everyone that he needs to contact for help. He is needs to receive phone calls and is is allowed limited access to making collect telephone calls on the prison phone system. Charges to receive collect calls start at $3.

4. Visitations, except by his lawyer, are allowed twice a week. Visits are limited to 30 minutes each with a maximum of two adults and two children. There is no pre-registration. So, if friends and family both arrive, they have to choose among themselves which two can go in for the visit. This can be a difficult problem for family members that travel a long distance only to find that they are not permitted to visit.

Even when two adults visit at the same time, they can only talk with Smith using a telephone that only one person can use at a time. Visitors cannot touch the accused or deliver anything personally to him. If a visitor would like to give Smith a book or writing materials, it cannot be left at the prison. It must be sent by mail.

5. While Smith is being held in prison, his personal life begins to fall apart. He is unable to work and may lose his job. He cannot take care of his children. He is unable to pay credit card and other bills —thus beginning a cycle of missed payments with increasing penalties leading to a default on auto loans and mortgages. At the same time, any income mailed to his home cannot be readily endorsed and banked to help support his defense.

6. After a period of imprisonment at the $500,000 bail which he was not able to raise, Smith was taken to a hearing. Had he been a wealthy person and able to make bail, he would have walked into the hearing properly dressed. But because he could not post the bail, he was taken to the hearing in prison clothing with his hands and legs shackled.

This spoke volumes about the appearance of guilt. The press took a photo that was run on the front page. Nothing more needed to be said. The photo implied that Smith was guilty because he was dressed and treated by the judicial system as if he were guilty.

7. At the hearing the judge lowered the bail to $100,000 plus the addition of a tracking bracelet. Is this reasonable bail? Under law, Smith is innocent until proven guilty. Under law, the sole purpose of bail is to guarantee the appearance of the accused in court. Excessive bail is more bail than is required to guarantee the appearance of the accused in court.

In the case of Mr. Smith, he has never lived outside the area except while serving in the military. He owns a house in the community, which is co-owned with his former wife. He has children in the community. He has never previously been in trouble with the law.

Therefore, the risk of Mr. Smith’s taking flight is low. Yet, a punitive high bail has been required in advance of a trial. In order to meet the bail requirements, Mr. Smith will either have to come up with $100,000, which is unrealistic, or work with a bail bondsman. A bail bondsman would require collateral for the balance of the $100,000 such as the equity in a home plus the upfront cost of the bond.

This upfront cost can be from seven percent to ten percent of the bail. That means if Smith can come up with the collateral and have it signed over to the the bail bondsman, it will cost him out of pocket at least $7,000 for the bail bond. In Smith’s case, since his house is in joint ownership with his ex-wife, he needs her agreement, and she has not agreed.

The cost of a lawyer and the cost of a defense have not even been addressed and the trail is six months away. Is he to waste away in jail before he has his day in court?

What happened to “innocent until proven guilty”?

Al Zagofsky

* Bail was lowered for Mr. Smith on March 26. That is the good news.

The bad news is that a man that was not convicted of any crime had to be incarcerated for nearly a month because he couldn't raise an exorbitant bail.

I'm beginning to hear that this is not a unique circumstance. Please let me know of problems that you are aware of in the Carbon County judicial/correctional system.

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