ENROLLED
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 100
BY REPRESENTATIVE JORDAN
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to review Louisiana laws regarding
bail and study whether a system which provides for the presumed release of a person
on unsecured personal surety or bail without surety in lieu of a preset bail schedule
would be more successful in ensuring the appearance of the defendant and the public
safety of the community.
WHEREAS, a person in custody who is charged with the commission of an offense
is entitled to bail before conviction pursuant to Article I, Section 18 of the Constitution of
Louisiana and Code of Criminal Procedure Article 312; and
WHEREAS, the American Bar Association (ABA) is one of the largest voluntary
professional membership organizations and the leading organization of legal professionals
in the United States, and since its founding in 1878, the ABA has worked to protect the
rights granted to individuals by the United States Constitution, including the rights of those
persons who are accused of crimes; and
WHEREAS, the ABA's work in this area is reflected in the ABA Standards for
Criminal Justice (Standards), a list of principals articulating the ABA's recommendations
for fair and effective systems of criminal justice that were developed and revised by the
ABA Criminal Justice Section comprised of prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges,
academics, and members of the public; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court and other courts have looked to the
Standards for guidance about the appropriate balance between individual rights and public
safety in the field of criminal justice; and
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WHEREAS, the Standards reflect the ABA's conclusion that "although there may
be narrow circumstances in which monetary conditions of release are necessary to ensure
a defendant's appearance, inflexible money-bail requirements drawn from a present schedule
of offenses, which takes no account of a defendant's individual circumstances, should be
abolished" as such systems discriminate against the indigent, seriously impair the rights of
persons accused of crimes, and provide little benefit to the public; and
WHEREAS, in its Amicus Curiae brief to the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit in the case Walker v. City of Calhoun, the ABA argues that inflexible
money-bail systems that rely on preset bail schedules, instead of individualized
determinations of the appropriate conditions of release, violate the Due Process and Equal
Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment; and
WHEREAS, it is important that Louisiana's system of pretrial release and detention
protects the community and ensures the appearance of the accused for court dates, while
securing the rights of the accused.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to review Louisiana laws regarding bail
and to study whether a system which provides for the presumed release of a person on
unsecured personal surety or bail without surety in lieu of a preset bail schedule would be
more successful in ensuring the appearance of the defendant and the public safety of the
community.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana State Law Institute shall report
its findings to the Louisiana Legislature no later than February 1, 2019.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be sent to the
Louisiana State Law Institute.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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