Welcome to this month’s “Opening Statement,” an update for our community about the criminal justice system and how the Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office works for justice for all citizens. In this installment, we’re taking a look at how cases begin in the system for defendants in jail: bond hearings.

Missouri has recently experienced changes, instituted by the Missouri Supreme Court, about standards for determining whether defendants should remain in custody pending trial, or whether they should be released with orders to report to Court at their assigned court date. These changes, which began implementation in 2019, have fundamentally changed the administration of criminal justice in Missouri in many ways.

Law enforcement can always arrest someone for committing a crime, and can hold them in custody for up to 24 hours until the prosecutor files charges with the Court. Often, arrests occur after charges are filed, such as after a lengthy investigation by the police or the Sheriff’s Office. In Audrain County, most cases where defendants are held in jail pending charges are for dangerous crimes: assault, domestic violence, weapons offenses, and sex crimes. This means many drug crimes, stealing and property crimes, and traffic offenses are dealt with using a summons. Signing a traffic ticket with a promise to appear at a certain date and time is one form of a summons.

Put simply, instead of going to jail and being processed, when you sign a summons you agree that you will report to Court for your case on a certain date and time. When cases are reviewed and filed later, one of the first ways is a presumption for a summons to issue instead of an arrest warrant in felony cases, unless the State can show a danger to the community, or a flight risk, by the defendant. Under the old rules, anytime a felony was charged, law enforcement was tasked with arresting the defendant after charges were filed by the State and processed by the Court, and bringing them to jail to post a bond or remain in custody until a hearing by the Court. Now, defendants in felony cases are served a summons – an order from the Court to appear at a certain date and time – by law enforcement. Arrest warrants are still an important part of the system, as dangerous defendants and those defendants who are a flight risk or are otherwise a risk to the community may have a warrant issue for their arrest.

Another recent change to pretrial processing is that defendants who are in custody at the jail on an arrest warrant, and on new charges where the Court has ordered a warrant, must be formally told of their charges within 48 hours of arrest, not counting weekend and holidays. Practically speaking, this means someone arrested on a warrant will be seen by the Court as soon as possible.

In cases with victims – assault, domestic violence, property crimes and sex crimes – the State must contact the victim to determine their position on whether the defendant should be held in custody, or released.

The victim’s position is important to the Court as one of many considerations the Rule says Courts must consider: defendant’s criminal history, risk to the community, the strength of the case, flight risk, defendant’s job and income, behavioral health and substance abuse history, and the defendant’s home life and plans if released. The State, to keep a defendant in custody, must show danger to the victims, other persons or to the community. At that point, the Court could hold the defendant in custody pending another bond hearing, could set a bond, or could conditionally release the defendant.

Conditional release is where the Court agrees to release the defendant if defendant promises to abide by conditions placed on them by the Court. Often, these conditions include a defendant’s promise not to break any more laws, not to possess drugs or alcohol or weapons, to report to the Court regularly, to keep the Court updated on a change of address, and not to have contact with victims or witnesses in the case. The Court has wide latitude in imposing conditions of release: this is an agreement between the Court and the defendant that the defendant will appear in Court to answer the charges in exchange for release from custody.

Monetary bond still exists in Missouri, where the Court orders that money be paid from the defendant or a professional surety in exchange for release from custody. Often, this occurs with defendants who have a history of failure to appear in Court on previous cases, or the defendant otherwise needs guidance to make sure they follow conditions of releases.

Once the Court makes its initial finding on bond, the whole process is repeated seven days later at another bond hearing, where the Court can reassess its initial findings or continue to hold the defendant in custody the same way.

After the seven-day hearing, the defendant can ask to have his bond reviewed at any time, provided there is enough notice to the State and to the Court to contact victims.

Victims have a right to be heard, and are strongly encouraged to participate, at each stage of conditional release review, bond review, and as the case proceeds. Communication between the prosecutor’s office and the victim is essential and vital to making sure the community is protected and appropriate conditions are put in place. Our victim’s advocate works from the moment our office receives the charges to make contact with the victim, determine their position and work to ensure the victim’s voice is heard in the process.

Bond reform has brought many changes to Missouri, including more criminal defendants being released to the community, or never being incarcerated on charges that in the past would have resulted in at least some jail time. My office is committed to following these new rules while working hard to protect victims’ rights, the community and public safety, and the defendants’ rights throughout the process.