Your Case Is Worth $20 Under Washington's New Bail Proposal

Here’s a math problem nobody in Olympia wants you to do.

Washington’s Supreme Court is considering a rule change that would cap bail at $200 for most misdemeanor crimes. Same rule creates a “strong presumption” that defendants only need to post 10% of that amount. A clerk takes the cash, defendant walks.

Ten percent of $200 is $20.

Somebody steals from your store? Twenty bucks and they’re gone. Somebody harasses you at work? Twenty bucks. Somebody trashes your car, trespasses on your property, shoves you in a parking lot? Twenty dollars to the clerk’s office and there is literally no one — not a single person — assigned to make sure they show up for their court date.

Domestic violence and DUI are excluded from the cap. Everything else? Fair game. Theft. Trespass. Harassment. Simple assault. Criminal mischief. The kinds of crimes that happen to regular people every day.

But here’s the part that hasn’t gotten enough attention.

That 10% deposit thing? It’s not just for misdemeanors. Read the actual proposal. The presumption covers CrR 3.2 — that’s superior court. Felonies. Someone gets charged with robbery and a judge sets bail at $50,000. Under this proposal, the defendant has a “strong presumption” they can post $5,000 to the clerk and walk. No bail agent tracking them. No third party with skin in the game. Just cash in a court registry and a promise to come back.

$100,000 bail? Post $10,000 with the clerk. Same deal.

So what happens when they don’t come back?

Bench warrant. Goes into a pile. Your local sheriff — already short-staffed, already running from call to call — is supposed to track down the person who skipped. Whenever they get around to it. Could be weeks. Could be months. For a misdemeanor warrant? Might be never.

And your case? Frozen. Can’t move forward without the defendant. Hearings get rescheduled. You come back again. And again. Or you give up. A lot of people give up.

The organizations pushing this say it’s about ending “wealth-based detention.” They say poor people shouldn’t sit in jail because they can’t afford bail. And honestly? They’ve got a point there. Nobody should rot in jail over $500 they don’t have.

But the fix they’re proposing doesn’t build anything. No court reminder system. No pretrial check-ins. No funding for new warrant officers. No victim notification when a defendant ghosts. They’re ripping out the wiring and not replacing it.

The people who pay the price won’t be rich folks in gated communities. It’ll be the clerk at the gas station. The single mom whose ex won’t leave her alone. The small business owner dealing with the same shoplifter for the third time. Those people need the system to work. This proposal makes it optional.

Comments are open until April 30, 2026. Send yours to rulescomments@courts.wa.gov. Tell them $20 isn’t accountability. It’s a joke.