Bail is the mechanism courts use to decide whether a defendant may remain out of custody while a criminal case is pending and on what conditions.
Bail is the legal mechanism used to determine whether a criminal defendant may remain out of custody while the case is pending and, if so, on what financial or nonfinancial conditions.
Bail matters because it directly affects freedom before trial. A bail decision can determine whether the defendant waits for the case at home, under supervision, or in custody.
The term also matters because people often use it narrowly to mean cash alone. In practice, bail discussions may involve bond amounts, release conditions, detention requests, and risk arguments.
Bail appears at first appearances, arraignment, detention hearings, plea discussions, and appellate review of pretrial-release decisions. Courts consider factors such as seriousness of the charge, flight risk, and public-safety concerns.
At arraignment in a felony case, the prosecution argues for high bail because of flight risk, while the defense argues for supervised release with conditions instead of a large cash amount.
Bail is not the criminal charge itself. Terms such as felony and misdemeanor classify the offense, while bail concerns release pending trial. It is also different from a plea bargain, which addresses resolution of the case rather than pretrial status.