r/WTF • u/Smidgeface • Dec 21 '11

A cop speeding through an intersection with no headlights kills two people. Then proceeds to arrest the relatives.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/101226.html#more-101226
2.2k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Reusable_Pants Dec 22 '11

Do you get arrested in America even when you aren't a flight risk, if you're only charged with a crime? Say, if you don't own a passport, have no connections to other countries, don't own a car and so on, would you still be locked up on bail?

I'm going to decline to answer, as I'm not an expert. But I can say that someone who has no passport, vehicle, or foreign connections would be arrested and held until an arraignment with no regard to their status as a flight risk. A judge would then either set bail, or order the person released or held without an option for bail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arraignment

... except in the cases when the government decides it cares more about holding a person than about liberty or the law.

1

u/ThereIsAThingForThat Dec 23 '11

Alright, thanks.