Compare and contrast law on the books and law in action approaches to bail setting. What effects ...

Law on the books expresses a strong preference for bail unless clear and convicting evidence establishes that: (1) there is a serious risk that the person will flee; (2) the person may obstruct justice or threaten, injure, or intimidate a prospective witness or juror; or (3) the offense is one of violence or one punishable by life imprisonment or death. In contrast, law in action affects bail setting in terms of uncertainty, risk, jail overcrowding, and situational justice. How these factors coalesce in a bail decision affects the processing of criminal defendants in terms of jail conditions, disparate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, the failure of some defendants to appear in court as promised, and case disposition.