New Maryland rule addresses standards for pre-trial release (cash bail)

The rules order for the 192nd Report  of the Court’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure dated 2/16/2017 recommended the adoption of proposed new Rule 4-216.1 and amendments to current Rules 4-212, 4-213, 4-213.1, 4- 214, 4-215, 4-216, 4-216.1, 4-216.2, 4-217, 4-349, 5-101, and 15-303 and Form 4-217.2 of the Maryland Rules of Procedure. The new rules and amendments are effective July 1, 2017.

Rule 4-216.1 “is designed to promote the release of defendants on their own recognizance or, when necessary, unsecured bond.”

You can find rules orders here: http://mdcourts.gov/rules/ruleschanges.html

An article published in the Baltimore Sun on 2/7/2016, “Maryland Court of Appeals: Defendants can’t be held in jail because they can’t afford bail,” provides a discussion of the rule and the cash bail system.