Legal Opinion
Brangan v. Commonwealth
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided August 25, 2017No. SJC 12232PublishedCited by 36 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtHines, J.
The practice of releasing a defendant on bail prior to trial has been part of Massachusetts law since its beginnings as a colony. See Commonwealth v. Baker, 343 Mass. 162, 165 (1961). The Body of Liberties (1641), the oldest known compilation of Massachusetts Colonial law, provided that:
“18. No mans person shall be restrained or imprisoned by any Authority whatsoever, before the law hath sentenced him thereto, If he can put in sufficient securitie, bayle or main-prise, for his appearance, and good behaviour in the meane time, unlesse it be in Crimes Capital, and Contempts in open Court, and…
2Cases cited40 opinions
- Mathews v. EldridgeSupreme Court of the United States · 1976
- Bell v. WolfishSupreme Court of the United States · 1979
- United States v. SalernoSupreme Court of the United States · 1987
- Moore v. City of East ClevelandSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Foucha v. LouisianaSupreme Court of the United States · 1992
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3Cited by36 opinions
- In re HumphreyCalifornia Supreme Court · 2021
- In re Humphrey, California Court of Appeal, 5th District2018
- State ex rel. Torrez v. WhitakerNew Mexico Supreme Court · 2018
- State ex rel. Torrez v. WhitakerNew Mexico Supreme Court · 2018
- Commonwealth v. G.F.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2018
31 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.