Mello v. Superior Court

The petitioner’s first claim is that the Superior Court acted in violation of his con*588stitutional right to bail in revoking his personal recognizance solely on account of a subsequent arrest. The central issue raised by the petitioner’s claim is not whether the Superior Court justice had the power to impose a condition that the petitioner refrain from criminal conduct, but whether revocation of bail was a proper remedy for violation of such a condition.

I first consider the nature of the constitutional right to bail of one awaiting trial on charges not punishable by death or life imprisonment.…