TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jul 18, 2024

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy and County Mayor Lee Harris today announced that judicial commissioners will now be able to view a defendant’s detailed criminal history before setting initial bail. This is a change from current practice, under which commissioners receive limited general information from the county government’s pretrial services office. Mulroy said although commissioners may call for more detailed information, not all do and it is harder to keep track of information shared over the phone. He said the change is being made to try to avoid cases in which a person is let out on bail and then reoffends, “sometimes even violently.” The new process will be implemented for all violent offenses, the Daily Memphian reports.