<P> In England , sheriffs originally determined whether to grant bail to criminal suspects . Since they tended to abuse their power , Parliament passed a statute in 1275 whereby bailable and non-bailable offenses were defined . The King 's judges often subverted the provisions of the law . It was held that an individual may be held without bail upon the Sovereign 's command . Eventually , the Petition of Right of 1628 argued that the King did not have such authority . Later , technicalities in the law were exploited to keep the accused imprisoned without bail even where the offenses were bailable ; such loopholes were for the most part closed by the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 . Thereafter , judges were compelled to set bail , but they often required impracticable amounts . Finally , the English Bill of Rights ( 1689 ) held that `` excessive bail ought not to be required . '' Nevertheless , the Bill did not determine the distinction between bailable and non-bailable offenses . Thus , the Eighth Amendment has been interpreted to mean that bail may be denied if the charges are sufficiently serious . The Supreme Court has also permitted `` preventive '' detention without bail . In United States v. Salerno , 481 U.S. 739 ( 1987 ) , the Supreme Court held that the only limitation imposed by the bail clause is that `` the government 's proposed conditions of release or detention not be ' excessive ' in light of the perceived evil . '' In Stack v. Boyle , 342 U.S. 1 ( 1951 ) , the Supreme Court declared that a bail amount is `` excessive '' under the Eighth Amendment if it were `` a figure higher than is reasonably calculated '' to ensure the defendant 's appearance at trial . </P>
<P> In England , sheriffs originally determined whether to grant bail to criminal suspects . Since they tended to abuse their power , Parliament passed a statute in 1275 whereby bailable and non-bailable offenses were defined . The King 's judges often subverted the provisions of the law . It was held that an individual may be held without bail upon the Sovereign 's command . Eventually , the Petition of Right of 1628 argued that the King did not have such authority . Later , technicalities in the law were exploited to keep the accused imprisoned without bail even where the offenses were bailable ; such loopholes were for the most part closed by the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 . Thereafter , judges were compelled to set bail , but they often required impracticable amounts . Finally , the English Bill of Rights ( 1689 ) held that `` excessive bail ought not to be required . '' Nevertheless , the Bill did not determine the distinction between bailable and non-bailable offenses . Thus , the Eighth Amendment has been interpreted to mean that bail may be denied if the charges are sufficiently serious . The Supreme Court has also permitted `` preventive '' detention without bail . In United States v. Salerno , 481 U.S. 739 ( 1987 ) , the Supreme Court held that the only limitation imposed by the bail clause is that `` the government 's proposed conditions of release or detention not be ' excessive ' in light of the perceived evil . '' In Stack v. Boyle , 342 U.S. 1 ( 1951 ) , the Supreme Court declared that a bail amount is `` excessive '' under the Eighth Amendment if it were `` a figure higher than is reasonably calculated '' to ensure the defendant 's appearance at trial . </P>
what does excessive bail mean in the eighth amendment
what does excessive bail mean in the eighth amendment
a figure higher than is reasonably calculated '' to ensure the defendant 's appearance at trial
a figure higher than is reasonably calculated '' to ensure the defendant 's appearance at trial