Appendix

Percentage of Population Held in Default of Bond in Baltimore City (Held on Cash Bail)

The 2017 bail reform successfully reduced percentages of those “held on default of bond” and increased “release on own recognizance" in Baltimore City. “Held on Default of Bond” (“HDOB”), meaning “the defendant sits in jail until someone pays for their release”, drastically decreased following the adoption of Maryland Rule 4-216.1. As shown in Figure (1), HDOB (“Held on Cash Bail”) rates were over 40% in June of 2016, and decreased to just above 10% by September 2017. This metric dropped below 10% in June 2018 and remained at 10% through June of 2023. “Released on Own Recognizance” (“ROR”), meaning “the defendant was released without bond until the next hearing/trial”, increased to about 40% between March 2017 to March 2019. There was a decline between June 2019 to March 2022 to below 20%, however, the rate began to rise from March 2022 into June 2023. Rates for HDOB decreased, while ROR increased, demonstrating that judges and commissioners successfully adhered to the rule by prioritizing own recognizance releases and when necessary, unsecured bonds.

Pretrial Population Percentages Between July 2016- June 2023

Despite the decrease in defendants “Held on Default of Bond”, the percentage of those held pre-trial presented a drastically inverse trend. Depicted in Figure (1) and Figure (2), between July 2016 and June 2023, percentages of those held pre-trial were around 30% in July 2016. By December 2016, pre-trial population percentages reached as low as 10%. Between December 2016 and March 2017, pre-trial detention percentages began to rise. From March 2017 to July 2017, percentages rose to 30%. This figure continued to grow between July 2017 and June 2018, peaking at nearly 40% (roughly 10% more than pre-bail reform rates). There was a significant decline in the pre-trial detention population following June 2018 until March 2020, with the population dropping from nearly 40% to approximately 5%. However, this decline was short-lived. The pre-trial detention percentages increased from below 10% in March 2020 to over 40% by April 2021. While these percentages stayed consistent throughout September 2021, there is some evidence the pre-trial percentages declined to just above 20% in December 2021 and stabilized through June 2022. Following a big spike above 30% in July and August 2022, the percentage of pre-trial population declined to just over 20% by June of 2023.

Percentage of Held in Default of Bond (“Cash Bail")

The explanation for the incongruity between the HDOB rates, ROR rates and rising pre-trial population rate is the increase in the rate of “Held Without Bail” (“HWOB”), meaning “defendants sitting in jail and cannot get out.” As depicted in Figure (2), the percentages of defendants HWOB rose drastically between July 2016 and June 2023, making the 2017 Maryland bail reform ineffective. Prior to 2017, reform efforts were aimed at cash bond affordability and release of lower level offenders. However, the anticipated impact of the 2017 reform was largely neutralized, as commissioners and judges used their power to enforce HWOB against defendants circumventing the Maryland 2017 Reform..

In June 2016, Baltimore City’s HWOB percentages stood at nearly 10%, rising to approximately 15% by December 2016 and surpassing 20% by March 2017. Following the implementation of the reform, the rate doubled, from 20% to 40% by March 2018 and remained at that rate until March 2019. The population then rose to about 60% by March 2020. This rate of 60% was maintained from March 2020 until about June 2021. Between June 2021 and March 2022, HWOB percentages rose to nearly 70%– almost seven times the rate of pre-bail reform rate in June 2016. Although HWOB percentages decreased from 70% to 60% by June 2023, the data confirms the reality of reform– while great in theory, the dramatic increase in “Held Without Bail” judgments ultimately rendered the reform ineffective.