Cases | State v. Fales, 599 A.2d 1046 | 2018
The trial court denied the defendant bail after arrest for simple assault upon his wife. The defendant appealed. The court held that threats to the well-being of the victim were too remote and attenuated from the integrity of the criminal proceedings to dictate denial of the right to bail. The trial court’s conclusion that the integrity of the judicial process was threatened was clearly erroneous. Approval of the trial court’s assessment would result in denial of bail as the rule in all but victimless crimes, because an inference may be made whenever a victim of crime remains alive that his or her well-being is in jeopardy and that pressure exists to influence testimony or the outcome of the case.