Panel recommends bond changes

In an effort to increase equity in Kansas municipal courts, a committee offered 18 recommendations Wednesday on bond, fines and fees.

The ad hoc committee was formed about a year ago at the direction of the Kansas Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Lawton Nuss said the court had been hearing stories and anecdotes about the bond system. A recent case in Houston involved a woman being held on $1,500 bail who killed herself while in jail, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"It just has become a bigger issue nationwide," Nuss said.

Economically disadvantaged people are disproportionately jailed because of their inability to post bond or pay court fees, he said. Some municipal courts use a bond schedule that lists a crime and a bond amount.

"Just to take a bond schedule, which is one size fits all, and not look at the individual characteristics of each defendant is a problem," Nuss said.

Brenda Stoss, municipal judge in Salina and New Cambria, served as the committee's chairwoman.

"The purpose of bonding should be to ensure appearance in court when scheduled and protect the public," Stoss said. "So the shortcoming of the traditional bond schedule is that it doesn't take those factors into consideration. So part of the recommendation from the report is just to ensure that courts are looking at the factors that should be the considerations in setting bond so that they geared more towards the concerns that bond's intended to address rather than the financial circumstances of the person who's arrested."

The report also recommended:

• Increasing credit for community service to satisfy court imposed sanctions.

• Alternatives to driver's license suspensions for traffic citation cases.

• The ability for judges to modify mandatory minimum fines when there is sufficient evidence of inability to pay.

• Training and education on the rights of defendants and changes that are implemented.

Implementation of the recommendations could involve minor tweaks to municipal systems or state legislation.

Rep. Brad Ralph, R-Dodge City, said municipal courts in Kansas may be the only contact citizens have with a court.

"It's always been my belief that it is important for municipal courts to be able to address an incredible array of situations in a manner that evidences fairness, equity, responsiveness and most importantly, justice," he said.

According to Equal Justice Under Law, about 450,000 Americans are in jail each day because they can't afford to post bail.