TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 25, 2025

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday seeking to limit cashless bail and threatened to revoke federal funding for jurisdictions that use it, Reuters reports. He also signed a separate order directing police in the District of Columbia to charge suspects with federal crimes and hold them in federal custody to avoid cashless bail. Cashless bail allows defendants to be released from jail while awaiting trial based on their promise to appear in court rather than paying a set cash amount. Opposers of the policy argue cashless bail reduces the incentive for defendants to appear in court and puts public safety at risk, while supporters say the system prevents low-income people from being jailed simply because they cannot afford bond. The District of Columbia was one of the first U.S. cities to largely eliminate cash bail in the 1990s, with judges deciding pretrial release based on a defendant’s risk of not showing up for trial. Among states, Illinois has eliminated cash bail, while New York, California and New Jersey have scaled it back.