President Trump’s executive orders threaten cities and states that allow cashless bail

This piece critiques H.R. 5213, the "Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act," arguing that Congress's attempt to reshape state bail practices through federal pressure marks an unusual and troubling departure from the longstanding norm of leaving criminal procedure to states, which the Tenth Amendment traditionally reserves to them. Rather than mandating changes directly—which would be unconstitutional—the bill uses the threat of withholding Byrne JAG funding (which primarily supports law enforcement agencies with no control over bail decisions) as leverage to push states toward blanket cash bail requirements, even for vague, low-level offenses like property destruction, stripping courts of the discretion to use risk-based approaches like preventive detention that states such as New Jersey, Texas, and Tennessee have adopted. The author warns this could overcrowd jails, punish law enforcement for policies they don't set, and set a precedent for future administrations to impose nationwide bail mandates in either direction, and instead recommends preserving core law enforcement funding, respecting state sovereignty over pretrial systems, investing in court technology and reminder systems shown to reduce missed court dates, and funding research-based solutions rather than relying on funding threats to force uniform bail policy.

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