Bail: Information on Whether DOJ Grants Were Used to Fund Cash Bond
Fast Facts
A judge can set bail to allow a defendant to be released from jail while awaiting trial. Bail requires a contract, or bond, to help ensure the defendant comes back for trial. Bonds can be a written promise to appear in court or a promise backed by cash or property.
We didn't find any prohibitions in federal laws or regulations on using Department of Justice grants to pay cash bond for a defendant's bail. DOJ officials also said that they weren't aware of any such restrictions.
We also found no evidence that DOJ awarded grants to nonprofits to pay cash bonds. Similarly, we found no indication that nonprofits used DOJ grants that way.
Highlights
What GAO Found
Based on a review of available data and interviews with DOJ officials, GAO found no information to indicate the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded grants to nonprofits to pay cash bond for bail or that nonprofit recipients used DOJ grant funds for this purpose. GAO also did not find any express prohibitions in federal statutes or regulations on the use of DOJ grants to pay cash bond for bail on behalf of an individual.
According to DOJ officials, paying cash bond for bail on behalf of individuals may be an allowable use of grant funds under one grant program—the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. Under the statute authorizing the JAG program, funds under that program are to be used to provide additional personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, training, technical assistance, and information systems for criminal justice or civil proceedings. DOJ documentation also states that JAG award funds can be used for, among other things, the activities of pretrial service agencies and pretrial release agencies, and for indigent defense.
Why GAO Did This Study
GAO was asked to review issues related to DOJ awarding and nonprofits using federal grant funds to pay cash bond for bail on behalf of individuals. This report discusses the extent to which (1) DOJ grant funds have been awarded to nonprofits and used to pay cash bond for bail, and (2) prohibitions exist in statute or regulation to prevent such use.
To identify whether any DOJ grant funds have been awarded to nonprofits and used to pay cash bond for bail, GAO collected and analyzed grant award data from three DOJ grant systems from fiscal years 2017 through June 2022 (the date of the most recent complete data available at the time of GAO's searches), and publicly available data on USAspending.gov from fiscal years 2017 through 2022. GAO also met with DOJ officials and representatives from selected nonprofits. To identify whether express prohibitions exist in statute or regulation to prevent the use of DOJ grant funds to pay cash bond for bail, GAO searched pertinent provisions of the U.S. Code, authorization and reauthorization acts, appropriations acts, and regulations.
For more information, contact Gretta L. Goodwin at 202-512-8777 or GoodwinG@gao.gov.