Overview
The Massachusetts Bail Fund accepts referrals for people prosecuted in Essex & Suffolk counties in Massachusetts who are held on $2000 bail or less. THE MASSACHUSETTS BAIL FUND IS A CHARGE NEUTRAL BAIL FUND; WE POST BAIL REGARDLESS OF COURT HISTORY, CHARGE, OR CIRCUMSTANCES. Our only limitation is access to funds and staffing.
Pe-COVID the Massachusetts Bail Fund was able to post bail at every jail and prison in Massachusetts. We were forced to cease operations mid-March because the bail posting process in Massachusetts forces prolonged in-person interactions with facilities and people where exposure to COVID-19 is a certainty. Massachusetts jails and prisons are among the hardest hit in the United States. People in prisons and jails cannot practice social distancing and do not have access to adequate sanitation supplies or medical care. Judges and DAs who send people to jail and prison during this pandemic are prolonging and exacerbating the risk of infection. They are sentencing people to sickness and death.
Yet, people are still being held pretrial by Judges and DAs. These people will remain incarcerated until their cases close, a time frame that has been increased artificially as our courts are closed due to COVID and people do not have access to trials. It is therefore the responsibility of that same system to ensure a safe and contactless process for release.
We were able to reopen in Essex and Suffolk counties because the courts and jails have created a contacless or low contact bail system. We were also able to raise our limit - from $500 to $5000. We look forward to expanding as time and money allows. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, MBF is now able to explore the financial feasibility of posting higher bails, so please contact us if your loved one/client is held on a bail of any amount that they cannot pay, as long as they are held in one of the above jails or houses of correction.
Referral Process
If a person has a bail over $5000 but family and friends can come up with the difference, the Massachusetts Bail Fund will contribute up to $5000 so that the entire bail can be posted. If you are court appointed counsel and you have a client you think would benefit from the Bail Fund please make a referral here. If you have a loved one you think would benefit from the Bail Fund, please send an email to information@massbailfund.org. A referral asks simply for information that we need to get someone free. We collect some limited dempgraphic information because we recognize the criminal legal system is racist, mysogynist, and homophobis, and we want to ensure that our impact counteracts these disparities rather than contributes to them. Referrals are accepted throughout the month. Referrals and decisions are handled as quickly as possible - often within hours or days of receiving the completed application. We understand that spending even one day in jail can have disastrous effects on someone's life and we act accordingly. We schedule bail postings throughout the month and you will be notified as soon as possible when we are scheduled to post the bail you have requested.
Posting Bail
Once a bail posting has been scheduled, a Bail Fund volunteer goes to the jail where the person is being held during the hours when a Bail Commissioner will be present and able to process bails. This process can take between two and eight hours, depending on the timeliness of the Bail Commissioner and the Jail or Prison. The Bail Fund is often posting numerous bails at a time. The volunteer posts the bail, in cash, as well as the mandatory, nonrefundable, $40.00 fee required by the Bail Commissioner. The Bail Fund will cover this fee in addition to the up to $5000 in bail funds it can provide. Where the bail fund contributes up to $5000 to a bail that is higher, the Bail Fund and the person's friend or family member are co-sureties on the clients' case. This means the Bail Fund received a bail surety form (a " green sheet") and the family member or friend receives a separate sheet.
Pending Trial
While the person's ' case is ongoing their bail money is kept by the courts. If the person defaults (meaning does not come to court when required) the bail money can be forfeited, which means the Bail Fund loses that amount of money. This does not happen often; in the history of the Bail Fund, 97% of all bails are returned. If notice of forfeiture is sent to the Bail Fund, our policy is to allow the process to play out without our involvement.
Case Closed
Once a persons' case concludes, the bail money is free to be released back to the Bail Fund. A volunteer goes to the court where the case was heard in order to have the bail money released back to the Bail Fund. That money can then be used for the next person who can't afford bail.
The Massachusetts Bail Fund accepts referrals for people prosecuted in Essex & Suffolk counties in Massachusetts who are held on $2000 bail or less. THE MASSACHUSETTS BAIL FUND IS A CHARGE NEUTRAL BAIL FUND; WE POST BAIL REGARDLESS OF COURT HISTORY, CHARGE, OR CIRCUMSTANCES. Our only limitation is access to funds and staffing.
Pe-COVID the Massachusetts Bail Fund was able to post bail at every jail and prison in Massachusetts. We were forced to cease operations mid-March because the bail posting process in Massachusetts forces prolonged in-person interactions with facilities and people where exposure to COVID-19 is a certainty. Massachusetts jails and prisons are among the hardest hit in the United States. People in prisons and jails cannot practice social distancing and do not have access to adequate sanitation supplies or medical care. Judges and DAs who send people to jail and prison during this pandemic are prolonging and exacerbating the risk of infection. They are sentencing people to sickness and death.
Yet, people are still being held pretrial by Judges and DAs. These people will remain incarcerated until their cases close, a time frame that has been increased artificially as our courts are closed due to COVID and people do not have access to trials. It is therefore the responsibility of that same system to ensure a safe and contactless process for release.
We were able to reopen in Essex and Suffolk counties because the courts and jails have created a contacless or low contact bail system. We were also able to raise our limit - from $500 to $5000. We look forward to expanding as time and money allows. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, MBF is now able to explore the financial feasibility of posting higher bails, so please contact us if your loved one/client is held on a bail of any amount that they cannot pay, as long as they are held in one of the above jails or houses of correction.
Referral Process
If a person has a bail over $5000 but family and friends can come up with the difference, the Massachusetts Bail Fund will contribute up to $5000 so that the entire bail can be posted. If you are court appointed counsel and you have a client you think would benefit from the Bail Fund please make a referral here. If you have a loved one you think would benefit from the Bail Fund, please send an email to information@massbailfund.org. A referral asks simply for information that we need to get someone free. We collect some limited dempgraphic information because we recognize the criminal legal system is racist, mysogynist, and homophobis, and we want to ensure that our impact counteracts these disparities rather than contributes to them. Referrals are accepted throughout the month. Referrals and decisions are handled as quickly as possible - often within hours or days of receiving the completed application. We understand that spending even one day in jail can have disastrous effects on someone's life and we act accordingly. We schedule bail postings throughout the month and you will be notified as soon as possible when we are scheduled to post the bail you have requested.
Posting Bail
Once a bail posting has been scheduled, a Bail Fund volunteer goes to the jail where the person is being held during the hours when a Bail Commissioner will be present and able to process bails. This process can take between two and eight hours, depending on the timeliness of the Bail Commissioner and the Jail or Prison. The Bail Fund is often posting numerous bails at a time. The volunteer posts the bail, in cash, as well as the mandatory, nonrefundable, $40.00 fee required by the Bail Commissioner. The Bail Fund will cover this fee in addition to the up to $5000 in bail funds it can provide. Where the bail fund contributes up to $5000 to a bail that is higher, the Bail Fund and the person's friend or family member are co-sureties on the clients' case. This means the Bail Fund received a bail surety form (a " green sheet") and the family member or friend receives a separate sheet.
Pending Trial
While the person's ' case is ongoing their bail money is kept by the courts. If the person defaults (meaning does not come to court when required) the bail money can be forfeited, which means the Bail Fund loses that amount of money. This does not happen often; in the history of the Bail Fund, 97% of all bails are returned. If notice of forfeiture is sent to the Bail Fund, our policy is to allow the process to play out without our involvement.
Case Closed
Once a persons' case concludes, the bail money is free to be released back to the Bail Fund. A volunteer goes to the court where the case was heard in order to have the bail money released back to the Bail Fund. That money can then be used for the next person who can't afford bail.
Bail is a renewable resource. Once bail is returned your money can be used to post bail for the next person who needs help.