Bail, Pretrial Release and Public Defenders in Mississippi

Under the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, a defendant charged with an offense bailable as a matter of right 'shall be released' on personal recognizance or an appearance bond unless the court finds release will not reasonably assure appearance or the defendant poses a real and present danger to others or the public; if so, the court shall impose the least onerous conditions that will reasonably assure appearance or minimize the risk (Rule 8.2(a)). The court considers listed factors, including age, family ties, criminal record, violence in the alleged offense, the nature of the offense and likely sentence, weapon used, threats against victims or witnesses, residence, employment and financial condition (Rule 8.2(a)(1)-(15)). Rule 8.2(c) sets bond guidelines courts may go above or below, e.g., capital felony $25,000 to no bail allowed; non-capital felonies punishable by up to 10 years $5,000 to $50,000; misdemeanors punishable by up to 6 months $250 to $1,000. A person arrested must be taken before a judge for an initial appearance without unnecessary delay and no later than forty-eight (48) hours after arrest (Rule 5.1).

An 'indigent' defendant is 'a person who is financially unable to employ counsel' (Rule 7.3(a)). A defendant who wants to proceed as indigent may complete an affidavit on the defendant's financial resources on a court-approved form, or be examined under oath by the judge (Rule 7.3(b)). In counties or municipalities that have a public defender, the public defender represents defendants entitled to appointed counsel; otherwise a private attorney is appointed (Rule 7.3(e)-(f)). Each circuit establishes local procedures for appointing counsel (Rule 7.2).