With the Barton case, Washington state gives us all proof positive that bail is the signing by sufficient sureties and that cash as a replacement to surety differs. In fact it differs a lot. Judges need to understand their duties and responsibilities pursuant to their state constitution and statutory scheme. In Hawaii, there is at least one judge setting cash only bail as a “condition” of bail needed as to me the court thinks only cash will reasonably assure the safety of the community or ensure the appearance of the defendant but in reality and for practical purpose the cash only setting means no bail as so few if any defendants can pay full cash instead of surety as defined in our Hawaii bail statute. It is odd that no Hawaii attorney questions the setting of cash only bail but now that we have Barton maybe some attorneys here will question the cash only bail setting. We will see.
With the Barton case, Washington state gives us all proof positive that bail is the signing by sufficient sureties and that cash as a replacement to surety differs. In fact it differs a lot. Judges need to understand their duties and responsibilities pursuant to their state constitution and statutory scheme. In Hawaii, there is at least one judge setting cash only bail as a “condition” of bail needed as to me the court thinks only cash will reasonably assure the safety of the community or ensure the appearance of the defendant but in reality and for practical purpose the cash only setting means no bail as so few if any defendants can pay full cash instead of surety as defined in our Hawaii bail statute. It is odd that no Hawaii attorney questions the setting of cash only bail but now that we have Barton maybe some attorneys here will question the cash only bail setting. We will see.