Osler's Razor

Yesterday in criminal practice class, I learned a lot (more on that later). One thing that became apparent is that I am somewhat rare in that I enjoy visiting people in jail and prison; as a prosecutor, for example, I had no problem with taking proffers of information from co-operating defendants at a prison, and these days I am more than willing to visit defendants who are incarcerated.

Part of the incarceration subculture I have always found fascinating is the business of bail bondsmen. There is often a little fleet of them near a jail, their pick-ups parked in a clump outside the entrance. Until today, though, I did not realize that they are pretty much unique to the U.S. justice system. This article in the New York Times details the way in which we go it alone in allowing private businessmen to secure the appearance of defendants in court.

Looking at it objectively, it is an odd system. There can be little doubt that it favors those defendants with access to cash, which in reality means either those who are not poor or who have some ill-gotten gains lying around. It also is probably unnecessary, even in the U.S., given that the federal criminal justice system functions just fine despite relying largely on personal bonds rather than bail and bail bondsmen.