97TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION

S. 1554

To amend the Bail Reform Act of 1966 to permit consideration of danger to the community in setting pretrial release conditions, to eliminate surety bond, to permit pretrial detention of certain offenders, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 31 (legislative day, JULY 8), 1981

Mr. THURMOND (for himself and Mr. HATCH, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BUMPERS, Mr. DECONCINI, Mr. DENTON, Mr. LAXALT, and Mr. SPECTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Bail Reform Act of 1966 to permit consideration of danger to the community in setting pretrial release conditions, to eliminate surety bond, to permit pretrial detention of certain offenders, and for other purposes.

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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That this Act may be cited as the "Bail Reform Act of 4 1981".

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SECTION 1. (a) Sections 3141 through 3151 of title 18,

2 United States Code, are repealed and the following new sec

3 tions are inserted in lieu thereof:

4 "§3141. Release and detention authority generally

5 “(a) PENDING TRIAL.—A judicial officer who is author6 ized to order the arrest of a person pursuant to section 3041 7 of this title shall order that an arrested person who is brought 8 before him be released or detained, pending judicial proceed9 ings, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

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"(b) PENDING SENTENCE OR APPEAL.—A judicial offi11 cer of a court of original jurisdiction over an offense, or a 12 judicial officer of a Federal appellate court, shall order that, 13 pending imposition or execution of sentence, or pending 14 appeal of conviction or sentence, a person be released or de15 tained pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

16 "§3142. Release or detention of a defendant pending trial 17 "(a) IN GENERAL.-Upon the appearance before a judi

18 cial officer of a person charged with an offense, the judicial 19 officer shall issue an order that, pending trial, the person 20 be

"(1) released on his personal recognizance pursu

ant to the provisions of subsection (b);

"(2) released on a condition or combination of

conditions pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c);

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"(3) temporarily detained to permit revocation of conditional release pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d); or

"(4) detained pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e).

"(b) RELEASE ON PERSONAL RECOGNIZANCE.-The 7 judicial officer shall order the pretrial release of the person on 8 his personal recognizance, subject to the condition that the 9 person not commit a Federal, State, or local crime during the 10 period of his release, unless the judicial officer determines 11 that such release will not reasonably assure the appearance 12 of the person as required or will endanger the safety of any 13 other person or the community.

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"(c) RELEASE ON CONDITIONS.-If the judicial officer 15 determines that the release described in subsection (b) will 16 not reasonably assure the appearance of the person as re17 quired or will endanger the safety of any other person or the 18 community, he shall order the pretrial release of the 19 person

"(1) subject to the condition that the person not commit a Federal, State, or local crime during the

period of release; and

"(2) subject to the least restrictive further condition, or combination of conditions, that he determines

will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as

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required and the safety of any other person and the

2 community, which may include the condition that the

person

"(A) remain in the custody of a designated person, who agrees to supervise him and to report any violation of a release condition to the court, if the designated person is able reasonably to assure the judicial officer that the person will appear as required and will not pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community;

"(B) maintain employment, or, if unemployed, actively seek employment;

"(C) maintain or commence an educational

program;

"(D) abide by specified restrictions on his personal associations, place of abode, or travel;

"(E) avoid all contact with an alleged victim

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of the crime and with a potential witness who

may testify concerning the offense;

"(F) report on a regular basis to a designated law enforcement agency, pretrial services

agency, or other agency;

"(G) comply with a specified curfew;

"(H) refrain from possessing a firearm, de

structive device, or other dangerous weapon;

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"(1) refrain from excessive use of alcohol, or

any use of a narcotic drug or other controlled sub

stance, as defined in section 102 of the Controlled

Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802), without a prescription by a licensed medical practitioner;

"(J) undergo available medical or psychiatric treatment, including treatment for drug or alcohol dependency, and remain in a specified institution if required for that purpose;

"(K) forfeit, upon failing to appear as required, such designated property belonging to the person as is reasonably necessary to assure his

appearance;

"(L) return to custody for specified hours following release for employment, schooling, or other limited purposes; and

"(M) satisfy any other condition, other than execution of a money bond, that is reasonably necessary to assure appearance of the person as

required and to assure the safety of any other

person and the community.

22 The judicial officer may at any time amend his order to

23 impose additional or different conditions of release.