ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER LARSEN

In a thought-provoking conversation, seasoned former prosecutor, Christopher Larsen shares his insights on the complexities of bail determinations in Pennsylvania. Attorney Larsen is a partner with GLS Law. This episode delves into the intricacies of the justice system, where seemingly disparate bail amounts can be set for similar crimes.

Attorney Larsen, a 20-year veteran of the prosecution, recounts a case where a sexual predator was released on $25,000 bail, while another individual, accused of DUI and evading arrest, was held on $100,000 bail. The speaker expresses frustration with the system, citing instances where bail amounts seem to be inconsistent with the severity of the crimes. He explains that judges must consider various factors, including the nature of the charge, prior criminal history, and potential danger to the public.

The conversation highlights the nuances of bail determinations, where judges have the discretion to set bail amounts based on individual circumstances. The speaker notes that there is no standardized price point for bail, and that each case is evaluated on its own merits. He also discusses the role of bail bondsmen, who can post bail on behalf of defendants in exchange for a fee.

If you're interested in learning more about the complexities of the justice system and the factors that influence bail determinations, tune in to this episode to hear the speaker's insightful perspective.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
To the show every morning.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Thank you. We appreciated. Holly and I were talking about
you yesterday, weren't we.

Speaker 3 (00:07):
Oh yeah, And I said it was all good stuff always.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
No, we thought you'd be the guy. We thought you'd
be the guy for this, because I've had questions for
some time. Here I sit here every day, Holly does
to him. We go through our preparation, and you see
perpetrators being arrested and the bail attached to them. And
sometimes it's this way with sentences for me as well,

(00:34):
where I'll see somebody gets a pretty big sentence and
yet another doesn't get quite that sentence, and they committed
what I think is a worse crime. But in this case,
I saw that there was a guy in Adams County
involved as a sexual predator and he had a history.
They arrested him and he was out on twenty five

(00:57):
thousand dollars bail. Now to me, it didn't seem like
enough money. But today I have a story about how
police use drones to find a guy who took off
on a motorcycle at eighty five miles per hour in

(01:17):
a forty five zone, and they go through the different
things that he's being charged with but essentially he eluded
police DUI, evading arrest or detention on foot agricultural vandalism
because he ran down some corn traffic violations, et cetera.

(01:39):
His bail one hundred thousand dollars. So I'm not trying,
I'm not trying to dismiss anything. They're all doing wrong
and we disagree, But that is a predator with sexual
abuse at twenty five grand and this guy get one hundred.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Well, RJ, I can tell you I might be a
little biased here, but you know, as a twenty year
prosecutor here in Central PA, these things would drive us crazy.
And I personally handled a homicide case of an individual
who was freed on bail and we had actually sought

(02:18):
to have bail increased. And that too was a sexual predator,
an individual who was charged with sexually assaulting two young ladies,
who then while he was out on bail, went to
the house where these two young ladies lived, killed the one,
killed the mother, and stabbed another individual. So I can

(02:41):
tell you it really bothers me to hear these stories.
But I am not personally involved in either of the
situations that you referenced. I don't know those specific facts.
Every judge has to take into consideration the individual standing
before him or her make a determination as to why
it's appropriate. You know, we don't have crystal balls to

(03:03):
see how somebody will act. But you know, there are
certain things that need to be taken into consideration. You know,
as you've already pointed out here, the nature of the
charge is the prior criminal history, the danger that is
posed to the public by the individual. You know, you
look at employment, you look at where they reside, do

(03:24):
they have a long term connection with the area. All
of these types of things are taken into account because
in Pennsylvania, every individual who's charged with an offense does
have a right to bail. However, well, I should say,
with a caveat, if there's a potential for life in
prison or capital murder, there is no right to bail.

(03:47):
So those individuals you'll never hear in Pennsylvania getting bail
because of the potential for life sentence or the death penalty.
But all others are presumed to have a right to
bail unless no combination of conditions can assure the public's safety.
But yeah, it would drive us crazy to see some

(04:11):
of the bills that were issued but it is up
to the individual judge to make his or her determination
as to what is the appropriate amount of bail. But
those two situations that you pointed out really should be reversed,
you know, just based on what we've described here. But
again I don't know those specifics.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
Similarly, so are there price points is or does a
judge automatically start at like ten grand and then keep
going from there? Like how do they determine the actual
physical dollar amount I'm not saying per crime, but just
the price points? Like, how do you figure that out?

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, it's it's a case by case basis. It's completely
up to the individual judge. It's not as if at
judge school they are provided with a you know, a
sheet that outlines the value to be assessed to a crime.
So the court makes that determination on its own. So no,

(05:09):
there there is not a price point assigned to each
But yeah, it's it's completely up to the uh, the MDJ,
And it's the MDJ in Pennsylvania that magisterial district judge
who is setting the bail. Typically, common please judges are
not involved in bail determinations unless there is a petition

(05:29):
filed by either the commonwealth or by defense attorney seeking
reconsideration of the bail amount that was set by that
magisterial district judge.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
So do you have to put up the whole amount
or do you get a bail bondsman and they put
up a portion or you put up a portion.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
So it all depends on what that MDJ has set
the bill. As you know, typically they'll set a number
and sometimes it can be set at you know, five
thousand dollars unsecured and what does that mean. That means
that the individual does not have to pay a penny.
So there is that five thousand dollars bail, but it's unsecured,

(06:12):
so you don't pay anything. Judges can say, okay, I'm
going to set a ball at five thousand and require
a percentage, or the individuals can seek, you know, say
it's a five thousand dollars bill that the individual doesn't
have and it's a flat five thousand dollars bail. They
can pursue the services of a bell bondsman, and that

(06:34):
ball bondsman works by they receive a payment anywhere typically
from five to ten percent of the total bail which
is paid to that ball bondsman to provide to pay
the bond to the court so the person gets out.
Even if the person shows up for all the court
appearances and you know, never has a violation of that baill,

(06:59):
they never get that amount back that they paid to
the bill bondsman. But the bill bondsman took the risk
of posting that amount on behalf of the descendant, right right.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
Yeah, Well, it's interesting how they're all over the place.
I'll tell you a quick story. You know, I grew
up in inner city reading and I know everybody says
I walked to school both ways, blah blah blah when
they get older, but my neighborhood was rough about fifty
percent of the of the guys my brother's age did

(07:28):
time at Birks County Prison. So the bottom line is
I used to fish with this guy who was not
the most upstanding citizen in the world, and we were
told we had to go to the back then called
the Aldermen, because he had a charge out on him.
And we went fishing first, and then we went to

(07:51):
the Aldermen. And to make a long story short, it
was some derivative of attempted murder because he attempted to
run some motorcycles off the road on skyline drive that
he got into an argument with in reading. Okay, so
the charges are pretty durned serious. This guy that I'm
with goes on to say to the judge, didn't you

(08:12):
didn't you play football with my uncle Harry? And they're
going back and forth about how wonderful life is. And
you know, I didn't even know that you were related
to him. One dollar nominal bail. Wow, wow, one dollar
nominal bail. I was fifteen, So you know, I.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
Would hope that none of that happens in this day
and age.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's certainly our hope. But you know,
we are all human and those connections sometimes do find
their way into decisions. I'm sure I can't cite to
any personally, but yeah, I mean that's that's human nature
part of that as well.

Speaker 2 (08:54):
Yeah. By the way, I only fished with him. I
didn't participate in anything else.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
It's so cute, all right, Well, RJ, the statue has
run on that stuff, so don't worry about it.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
All right. Well that sounds good. So do you want
to give you your firm a plug since you came on
this morning for us?

Speaker 1 (09:11):
Yeah? Sure, no, that would be great. You know, as
I mentioned, twenty years as a prosecutor, but now happily
practicing in the civil realm with g LS injury law.
That's Georgelis Larson and Sabatino injury law, with offices a
couple offices here in Lancaster, in office in New York,
in an office in Westchester, but serving the entire region.

(09:33):
So I appreciate that very much. RJ against Chris Larson
with GLS injury law.

Speaker 2 (09:38):
All right, that sounds good. We talk about you a lot.
You're a good man. Thanks for coming on this morning, RJ.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
My pleasure, Holly. Thanks Happy hour muching you guys, take care,
Happy hour later, buddy.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, there you go, happy hour. We'll see you all right.
Thank you Holly for arranging all that's easy. Is tremendous.
It's seven