ACLU-NCA opposes mandatory pretrial detention bill

On February 3, we submitted testimony opposing D.C. Council Bill 19-485, which would require the court to impose a “detection device” (e.g., an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet) on any defendant released pending trial who is accused of the unlawful “sale, purchase, transfer, receipt, acquisition, possession, use, manufacture, carrying, transportation, registration, or licensing of a firearm,” and would mandate pretrial preventive detention for anyone accused of those crimes who meets certain other criteria. We pointed out that the bill’s central purpose – removing from the courts the ability to tailor the conditions of pretrial release to fit the defendant – was at odds with the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of excessive bail. While pretrial detention or the use of a detection device may be appropriate in some cases, it is certainly not justified in all cases involving alleged firearms offenses, especially not when the D.C. statute recognizes that it is not appropriate in all cases involving even far more serious crimes, such as murder, rape or armed robbery.

A copy of the ACLU testimony on the “Gun Offender Pretrial Detention and Supervision Act of 2011” is here.