Opinion ID: 2025785
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Standards for Considering Bail on Appeal

Text: We now turn to the standard which appellate courts should apply when considering a request for bail which the trial court has denied. Appellate Rule 6(B) says that the court on appeal may reconsider the application. Appellant argues that this suggests a de novo standard of review, that is, an entirely new determination of the bail question without regard for the judgment of the trial court. Although Appellate Rule 6 authorizes the appellate court to fix bond, it does not provide for hearing such requests de novo. The requirement of a certified record of the trial court's action signals that notice is to be paid to the trial court's decision. In addition, reconsideration of bail pending appeal is unlike other situations where de novo review is authorized, such as appeals from judgments of city courts. Ind. Code § 33-10.1-5-9(a) (West 1983) (An appeal from a judgment of a city court may be taken to the circuit or superior court of the county and tried de novo.); see also State ex rel. Rodriguez v. Grant Circuit Court (1974), 261 Ind. 642, 309 N.E.2d 145 (criminal defendant convicted in city court had right to appeal and trial de novo in circuit court). [8] Although appellate courts do not consider requests for bond de novo, neither are they limited to reviewing trial court decisions for abuse of discretion. Willis, 492 N.E.2d at 48. Because the appellate court is authorized to grant and fix bond, it must be able to examine those factors which are pertinent to the decision whether to grant bond pending appeal. The appellate court must give the trial court appropriate deference, however, on those issues which the trial court is in the best position to judge. The consideration of a petition for bond pending appeal starts with the presumption that the convicted defendant is guilty, the opposite of the starting point when considering bail pending trial. See Ex parte Pettiford (1929), 97 Ind. App. 703, 167 N.E. 154. The petitioner bears the burden of demonstrating that there are compelling reasons to allow a guilty defendant to remain free pending appeal of his conviction. In hearing such petitions, the appellate court should examine three factors: (1) the probability of reversible error at trial, (2) the risk of flight, and (3) the potential dangerousness of the defendant. [9] Probability of Error. The appellate court need not defer to a trial court's findings concerning the likelihood of reversible error. Appellate courts are by their nature in a better position to judge the possibility of reversible error at trial. We note, however, that the sort of ancillary review attendant to a bail request necessarily provides a more limited view of the issues than the ordinary appellate review with full briefing and a complete record. Therefore, an applicant must show that there is a likelihood that his conviction will be reversed on appeal. This is a higher burden than merely showing that there are substantial issues or numerous meritorious bases for appeal. He must convince the reviewing court that his case will probably be among the ten or fifteen percent which are reversed on appeal. Risk of Flight and Dangerousness. The second and third factors are ones on which deference to the trial court is appropriate. The trial court is in the best position to judge the credibility of the witnesses and it has the best view of the defendant. Risk of flight is central to pretrial bail determinations because of the need to assure the presence of the accused at trial. Phillips v. State (1990), Ind., 550 N.E.2d 1290, 1294. After conviction and sentencing this factor would generally weigh more heavily against granting bail. First, once a defendant knows his fate the risk of flight is usually greater. Second, the public interest in assuring that a convict will serve his term of imprisonment if the conviction is affirmed becomes an additional consideration. When assessing risk of flight and dangerousness, the court should also take cognizance of the seriousness of the crime for which defendant has been convicted. For more serious crimes, the sentence will tend to be greater and the risk of flight stronger. Similarly, more serious offenses suggest greater danger in leaving the defendant at large. See State v. Kerrigan, 98 Idaho 701, 571 P.2d 762 (1977). We note also that the state need not show that the defendant is dangerous; rather it is the defendant's burden to show that he is not dangerous. See United States v. Vance, 851 F.2d 166 (6th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 893, 109 S.Ct. 231, 102 L.Ed.2d 220. The reviewing court may make its own assessment of these factors, but it should be cautious about second-guessing the findings of the trial court on these issues.