President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order threatening to withhold or revoke federal funding from state and local governments that offer cashless bail, framing the practice as a direct threat to public safety.“No cash. Come back in a couple of months, we’ll give you a trial. You never see the person again,” Trump said moments before signing the order.The directive requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to submit a list within 30 days of jurisdictions that have “substantially eliminated cash bail as a potential condition of pretrial release from custody for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety and order.”What cashless bail isCashless bail policies allow defendants to be released from jail without paying money while awaiting trial. Traditionally, defendants pay bail and recover the money if they appear in court as required. Supporters of reform argue cash bail penalizes the poor, keeping low-income defendants behind bars while wealthier individuals can pay their way out. Critics, however, say removing bail risks releasing violent offenders and undermines court compliance.The Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, but it does not eliminate it as a condition of release.Where it’s been implementedIllinois became the first state in 2023 to abolish cash bail after its Supreme Court upheld the SAFE-T Act, a sweeping criminal justice reform passed in 2021. Judges in Illinois now determine pretrial release based on factors such as public safety and flight risk rather than financial means.Other states and jurisdictions, including New Jersey, New Mexico, and Washington, DC, have also largely eliminated or reduced reliance on cash bail. Many supplement the system with measures such as court date reminders, flexible scheduling, transportation assistance, and on-site childcare to improve attendance rates.When it’s appliedPolicies differ by state, but many jurisdictions exclude serious crimes such as murder and other violent offenses from eligibility. Judges may also deny release if there is a high risk of flight. In some cases, cashless bail is automatically granted for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.The crime debateThe effect of cashless bail on crime remains contested. A 2024 Loyola University of Chicago report on Illinois’ law, one year after implementation, concluded that crime had not increased, with some counties reporting declines in violent and property offenses. Similarly, a 2024 Brennan Center for Justice study covering 33 cities between 2015 and 2021 found “no statistically significant relationship” between bail reform and overall crime rates.Still, the Trump administration cites evidence to the contrary. A 2022 study from the Yolo County, California, district attorney’s office analyzed a temporary cashless bail system introduced statewide during the pandemic. Of 595 defendants released between April 2020 and May 2021, 70.6% were rearrested, with more than half arrested multiple times.What comes nextTrump’s executive order is expected to trigger legal challenges, as criminal justice reforms remain largely state-driven. Advocates for eliminating cash bail argue that the president’s move criminalizes poverty and undermines reforms that promote fairness. Critics of cashless bail, however, welcome the federal intervention, insisting it is necessary to protect communities from repeat offenders.The order underscores a deepening national divide over how best to balance fairness in the criminal justice system with public safety concerns.
