Even though Illinois abolished cash bail, you may still be held in jail before trial if you are a threat to safety or a flight risk. Even so, the state must show by clear and convincing evidence that less restrictive conditions of your release would not avoid this threat.
At your pretrial release hearing, your attorney may be able to argue that some combination of conditions would protect the community enough to keep you out of jail. Perhaps you could be placed on either GPS or electronic home monitoring. For example:
- In People v. Castillo, the defendant was charged with home invasion and child endangerment. The trial court did not adequately explain why electronic home monitoring at an inpatient facility and at the defendant’s mother’s home would have protected the community and insured defendant’s appearance in court.
- In People v. Earnest, the state argued that the defendant was a flight risk but did not show why some combination of conditions would not avoid this risk.
- In People v. Carter, the defendant was charged with aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm. The trial court ordered pretrial detention. The appeals court, however, said the trial court should have considered conditions short of detention as well as the defendant’s lack of criminal history.
On the other hand, in People v. Perez, the defendant was charged with battery only 12 days after being released before trial on another offense. Defendant also had a history of domestic battery and other violent crimes. Thus, the court concluded that no combination of conditions would work.
If you have been charged with a criminal-related offense and are facing a pretrial detention hearing, contact an experienced attorney immediately. An attorney may be able to show why you should be allowed to remain out of jail before trial.
If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.
(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)
