Pretrial Release -- Part 3: Limits on When and What Conditions May Be Imposed

As a general rule, and subject to local bond policy, the law gives judicial officials a great deal of discretion to determine the appropriate conditions of pretrial release. In some situations, however, the law limits that discretion. In my first post in this series I discussed situations where a defendant is not entitled to conditions. This post discusses situations where a defendant is entitled to conditions but the judicial official’s discretion as to when and what conditions may be imposed is limited in some way. Probationers. As discussed in my first post, special pretrial release provisions apply when a probationer is arrested for violating probation and either has a pending felony charge or has been convicted of an offense that requires registration under the sex offender registration statutes or that would have required registration but for the effective date of the registration program. In certain circumstances, such a defendant is not entitled to release; in other circumstances such a defendant must be held for a period pending receipt of relevant information. Also, G.S. 15A-534(d2) provides that when conditions of pretrial release are being determined for a defendant who is charged with a felony while on probation for an earlier offense, the judicial official must determine whether the defendant poses a danger to the public before imposing conditions of pretrial release. If the defendant does not pose such a danger, he or she is entitled to release as in all cases. Id. If the defendant poses such a danger, the judicial official [...]