BALTIMORE _ Maryland's highest court adopted a landmark rule Tuesday aimed at ending the practice of holding criminal defendants in jail before trial when they cannot afford bail.
The seven-member Court of Appeals unanimously agreed on a compromise that preserves money bail when it is the least onerous way to ensure a defendant appears for trial.
The rule won praise from both bail reform advocates and the bail bond industry, which felt threatened by the original proposal from the court's rules committee.
The court's action, which does not require legislative approval, largely accepts the legal reasoning of Attorney General Brian E. Frosh. The state's chief lawyer, a Democrat, issued advice last year that it is unconstitutional to hold a defendant in jail for no reason other than an inability to afford money bail.
Frosh said the courts must take into account the individual circumstances of each defendant rather than set bail based solely on the nature of the charge.
The court agreed that the new rule would take effect July 1.
