Judges have leeway in setting bond rates
By: Tricia Thompson, Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: City
Durham courts have raised bond rates, making it harder for those arrested in the county to get out of jail while they await sentencing.
The bond guidelines were changed just before Lawrence Alvin Lovette was charged in connection with the murders of UNC Student Body President Eve Carson and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato.
The 17-year-old faces a $3 million bail in Durham for the Mahato case and was held without bail in Orange County for the charges related to Carson's murder.
When Orange County revised its bond guidelines about two years ago, it also increased the rates significantly, Orange-Chatham District Attorney Jim Woodall said.
"It's not just to ensure they appear in court, but to protect the community," Woodall said.
"Often you have a person with a history of crime behavior. Obviously it's to the community's benefit if they are held in custody pending trial."
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Carl Fox, a former district attorney who worked on the guidelines for three years, said the bond a judge sets is decided by a variety of factors.
Ties to the community, prior criminal history, the nature of the charge, evidence, the number of charges pending, and whether the person was released previously on bond all are considered, Fox said.
Judges have some leeway in deciding bond rates and can set bonds higher than the guidelines, which Woodall said is a starting point.
Fox ranked protection of society as the most important factor in determining bond.
"When there is a higher degree of them fleeing town, they have a higher bond, or in some cases no bond," said Matthew Suczynski, an attorney with Everett Law Firm.
But some worry increased bonds will create an influx in jail populations, which already are overcrowded.
"The higher secured bonds you have, the higher number of people you'll have in jail," Suczynski said.
"That's something to be taken into consideration, especially in Durham where the jail is near, if not at, capacity."
Fox said alternative sentencing helps correct the possible overcrowding in local jails.
Orange Chatham Alternative Sentencing provides ways for defendants who have not been convicted of serious or multiple crimes and are not dangerous to the community to avoid jail by participating in community-based or rehabilitation programs.
"It's been very successful in its return-to-court rate," said Joyce Kuhn, executive director of the agency.
"We screen factors that have been used reliably over time to indicate a person's stability in the community."
Staff writer Jake Ratliff contributed reporting.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
The bond guidelines were changed just before Lawrence Alvin Lovette was charged in connection with the murders of UNC Student Body President Eve Carson and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato.
The 17-year-old faces a $3 million bail in Durham for the Mahato case and was held without bail in Orange County for the charges related to Carson's murder.
When Orange County revised its bond guidelines about two years ago, it also increased the rates significantly, Orange-Chatham District Attorney Jim Woodall said.
"It's not just to ensure they appear in court, but to protect the community," Woodall said.
"Often you have a person with a history of crime behavior. Obviously it's to the community's benefit if they are held in custody pending trial."
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Carl Fox, a former district attorney who worked on the guidelines for three years, said the bond a judge sets is decided by a variety of factors.
Ties to the community, prior criminal history, the nature of the charge, evidence, the number of charges pending, and whether the person was released previously on bond all are considered, Fox said.
Judges have some leeway in deciding bond rates and can set bonds higher than the guidelines, which Woodall said is a starting point.
Fox ranked protection of society as the most important factor in determining bond.
"When there is a higher degree of them fleeing town, they have a higher bond, or in some cases no bond," said Matthew Suczynski, an attorney with Everett Law Firm.
But some worry increased bonds will create an influx in jail populations, which already are overcrowded.
"The higher secured bonds you have, the higher number of people you'll have in jail," Suczynski said.
"That's something to be taken into consideration, especially in Durham where the jail is near, if not at, capacity."
Fox said alternative sentencing helps correct the possible overcrowding in local jails.
Orange Chatham Alternative Sentencing provides ways for defendants who have not been convicted of serious or multiple crimes and are not dangerous to the community to avoid jail by participating in community-based or rehabilitation programs.
"It's been very successful in its return-to-court rate," said Joyce Kuhn, executive director of the agency.
"We screen factors that have been used reliably over time to indicate a person's stability in the community."
Staff writer Jake Ratliff contributed reporting.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
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