YourVoice.Now Summary
Criminal Justice & Due ProcessCivil LibertiesYour MoneyGun LawsCorporate BenefitsIn D.C., a violent charge would mean jail until trial — stalking or rioting would need cash bail.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
Today a D.C. judge weighs each case and can set terms for release. The bill would send anyone facing these two groups of charges to jail until trial, with no case-by-case call.
Right now a judge can let the person stay out while they wait for sentencing or an appeal. The bill would take that choice away for these two groups of charges.
Right now a judge can let these people go on a promise to come back. The bill's full list also covers obstruction of justice, inciting a riot, and lesser burglary or robbery.
A judge must now choose the mildest release terms that will work. The bill would drop that limit, and setting terms at all would become optional rather than required.
D.C. law now counts any burglary or robbery as a dangerous crime. The bill would narrow that to first-degree and armed cases, and move the rest into the cash-bail group.
Civil Liberties
The bill orders detention no matter what any other part of this law says. A hearing could still happen, but it could not end in release for these charges.
If a bail bond company backs your bond, it could arrest you and hand you to a U.S. marshal. A judge would then decide whether to send you back to jail.
The bill rewrites the D.C. Official Code directly. The D.C. Council, which normally writes local crime law, would not vote on these changes.
Your Money
A secured bond means putting up cash, property, or a bond bought from a company. You give up what you posted if you fail to show up in court.
Gun Laws
Judges would have to start from the view that no release terms are safe enough, though the person can argue otherwise. It covers D.C. gun possession and carry charges, plus gun violations by someone on probation for a violent crime.
Corporate Benefits
The bill writes commercial bail bonds into D.C. law as a way to get released. Companies that post those bonds would gain paying customers and the power to arrest them.
More about this bill
In the District of Columbia, anyone charged with a violent or dangerous crime would be held in jail until trial. A judge could not decide otherwise. No hearing could change that. The same rule would apply after a guilty verdict, while a person waits for sentencing or an appeal. A second list of charges would require cash bail to get out of jail. That list covers stalking, rioting, fleeing police, destroying property, and missing a court date. You or your family would post money or property, and lose it if you miss court. A bail bond company could put up the money instead. That company could later arrest you to bring you back. Congress would write these rules straight into D.C. law. They would start 30 days after the bill becomes law and cover only new charges.
Congressional Summary
This bill mandates, in the District of Columbia (DC), pretrial and post-conviction detention for crimes of violence and dangerous crimes and cash bail to obtain pretrial release for public safety or order crimes. Under current DC law, a court may generally order a defendant released before trial based on the judge’s assessment of the risks posed by the defendant's release. If the defendant is charged with a crime of violence or a dangerous crime, the court must determine conditions for release; if the defendant has a prior history of such crimes, is charged with a crime that involves deadly weapons, or is charged with a crime of violence, there is a rebuttable presumption that the defendant must be detained.The bill requires defendants charged with a crime of violence or a dangerous crime to be detained while awaiting trial. It also prohibits a court from releasing a defendant charged with a public safety or order crime without a secured appearance bond (i.e., money or property subject to forfeiture). Public safety or order crimes include fleeing from a law enforcement officer, rioting, and stalking.Current DC law also allows individuals who are convicted of an offense to be released pending sentencing or an appeal if the court finds the individual is unlikely to flee or pose a danger to others. The bill requires individuals who are convicted of a crime of violence or a dangerous crime to be detained in these circumstances.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to House
- Action Date
- 2025-09-30
- Date Added
- 2026-04-06
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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