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Legislative counsel briefs Judiciary Committee on Vermont bail, pretrial release and home detention changes
Summary
Office of Legislative Council staff reviewed Vermont law on bail and conditions of release, highlighted recent changes under Act S.195, and described expanded home‑detention and pretrial supervision options and limits.
Daniel Bobrodsky of the Office of Legislative Council told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Vermont law treats bail as a mechanism to ensure court appearance, not to punish defendants or to provide primary public protection.
The overview said the state and U.S. constitutions frame bail policy and that statutory provisions in Title 13 (notably 13 V.S.A. §§7553–7554) implement those constitutional limits. Bobrodsky summarized recent legislative changes in Act S.195, the statutes courts rely on to assess risk of flight and to select the least‑restrictive conditions of release.
The presentation explained basic terms and limits: bail is any security—including cash—pledged to secure a defendant’s appearance; a secured appearance bond commonly requires about 10 percent up front; and a surety is a third party who guarantees appearance. Bobrodsky emphasized that…
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