Criminal
Jun. 5, 2026
State Supreme Court resolves constitutional clash over bail
In In re Kowalczyk, the California Supreme Court narrowed the path to pretrial detention and reinforced limits on unaffordable bail.
Since 1849, before statehood, California has guaranteed most criminal defendants the right to release on bail. Which defendants do not qualify for this general right and can therefore be validly detained without bail pending trial has been the subject of significant recent litigation.
In In re Kowalczyk (2026) 343 Cal.Rptr.3d 680, the state high court confronted two provisions regarding a court's authority to detain a criminal defendant before tr...
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