There's been a great deal of media attention on New Jersey's battle with "bail reform", but there are a number of other battles taking place throughout the US.

Take Ohio, for example.  Just last month that state's Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to prohibit commercial bail bonding by instead mandating defendants pay a 10 percent cash deposit directly with the court.

The ruling essentially opened the door for companies offering corporate surety bonds to do business.

A ruling in the state of Washington ended with a similar result.  Courts are no longer allowed to only accept 10% in cash; they must also allow defendants the option to post bail bonds.

What this means for the bail bonds industry

The Ohio and Washington rulings are example of the highest courts in two separate states ruling in favor of commercial bail, which shows some judges see this industry as a needed and viable form of pretrial release.

And the statistics speak for themselves.

Study after study has shown that defendants who are released through the help of a bondsman are far more likely to appear in court than are those who get out of jail via pretrial services.

It also doesn't cost taxpayers one single dime.

On the flip side of that coin, defendants who aren't released on bail bonds who skip out on court?  The responsibility to track them down becomes the responsibility of local law enforcement, which in many cases, simply doesn't have the resources or the manpower to hunt down bail skips.

These rulings simply enforce the idea that commercial bail plays a viable role in the nation's criminal justice system.