Pretrial Release -- Part 2: Who Sets Conditions? What Are the Options?

In my first post in this series, I addressed the issue of who is entitled to conditions of pretrial release. In this post, I’ll address who can set conditions and what pretrial release options are available. Who Sets Conditions Conditions of pretrial release are set by a judicial official G.S. 15A-532(a). Typically, conditions are set by a magistrate or a district or superior court judge, but the term judicial official also includes clerks and appellate judges and justices. G.S. 15A-101(5). However, there are certain situations when only a specific judicial official is authorized to set conditions. Those situations include: Forty-Eight-Hour Rule Cases. As Jeff noted in a previous post here, only a judge can set conditions of release for a defendant charged with certain domestic violence crimes in the first forty-eight hours after arrest. Capital Offenses. It is within the discretion of a judge (and only a judge) to decide whether a defendant charged with a capital offense will be released before trial. G.S. 15A-533(c). If a person brought before a magistrate is charged with a capital offense, the magistrate must commit the person to jail for a judge to determine the conditions of release at the first appearance. Certain Drug Trafficking Offenses. As noted in my first post in this series, G.S. 15A-533(d) provides a rebuttable presumption of no release for drug trafficking offenders if certain findings are made. If the relevant findings are made, only a district or superior court judge may set pretrial release conditions after finding that [...]