Bail bonds proposal heads to the full House [The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.]

June 14--RALEIGH -- A bill that would restrict government programs that allow some indigent defendants to be released from jail without posting a bond will now go to the full House for debate.

A judiciary subcommittee approved Senate Bill 756 on Wednesday, agreeing to impose changes on locally run pretrial release programs in 32 North Carolina counties, including Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham.

Supporters of the bill say pretrial release programs essentially duplicate the services of the bail bonds industry, and that government should not interfere with private business.

"When a government entity becomes a substitute for private business, it causes small business to become even smaller," said Rep. Mike Hager, a Republican from Rutherfordton.

But the bill has drawn strong opposition from some judges, court officials, police chiefs and justice advocates from across the state who say the only beneficiary of the bill would be the bail bonds industry. Marcia Morey, the chief district court judge for Durham County, said pretrial release programs gather critical information from defendants that help judges decide whether they should be released and called the bill "a horrible idea."

"This is all about making money for the bail bonds industry," Morey said in an interview after testifying against the bill last week.

Hager says pretrial release programs lack uniform, statewide guidelines and allow people to get out of jail who could otherwise pay their own bond. If the program does survive, he said, it needs reforms, including properly vetting defendants who are approved for the program.

"It doesn't make sense to have people approved for pretrial release who have been charged with second-degree murder or drug trafficking," he said.

Chuck Johnson, Wake County's pretrial services director and president of the N.C. Pretrial Release Services Association, said county programs are similar, even without statewide guidelines. He noted that in Wake, defendants charged with violent crimes or drug trafficking are not approved for the program, but in any case, the decision to release a defendant still rests with a judge.

"The judge can release anyone on any charge," Johnson said.

The bill was introduced last April by former Sen. Debbie Clary, a Republican from Cherryville who resigned in January, and stalled last summer before being resurrected this year. The measure would:

-- Prevent state funding for pretrial release programs, though counties have covered the full cost for several years.

-- Prohibit pretrial release services employees from communicating with defendants for at least 48 hours after their arrest. Proponents say the waiting period would give pretrial services adequate time to research a defendant's background, but opponents say the change is meant to steer more defendants to bail bondsmen and will mean many simply remain in jail longer than necessary.

-- Set a mandatory bond of at least $1,000 for persons placed on electronic house arrest.

Several of the bill's critics said a mandatory bond for persons under electronic house arrest usurps a judge's discretion in setting bond. But Mark Black, a Raleigh attorney and lobbyist for the N.C. Bail Agents Association, noted that the $1,000 mandatory bond would ensure an accused offender appears in court.

"What we are finding out in the field... what we are seeing is bonds of $10," Black told judiciary subcommittee members on Wednesday. "That's not a significant bond."