united-states criminal-law new-mexico bail
Why is the bond for a $500 fraud identical to that for a more than $20 000 fraud?
<p>This man who was much advertised on the internet (see the links) has 19 charges, the bond for each of them being set to $40 000. The question is why, as long as some charges are for frauds ranging from $100 to $500 while others for frauds above $20 000? The total bond would be $760 000.</p>

<p>See the list of charges here:
<a href="https://www.donaanacounty.org/inmates/viewprofile/1700009732" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.donaanacounty.org/inmates/viewprofile/1700009732</a></p>

<h2>Bail schedules</h2>

<p>In the United States, bail bond amounts are commonly set in accordance with a local <strong>bail schedule</strong>. According to <a href="http://cjpp.law.harvard.edu/assets/FINAL-Primer-on-Bail-Reform.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Moving Beyond Money: A Primer on Bail Reform</em></a>, published in 2016 by the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Jurisdictions throughout the country use bail schedules to determine the amount of money bail that will be applied to certain categories of offenses. <strong>Generally, a bail schedule will list particular offenses or offense types (<em>e.g.</em>, various classes of misdemeanor or felony) and assign a specific dollar amount or dollar range.</strong> Jurisdictions may embrace bail schedules as a tool of efficiency or because they provide uniformity along certain dimensions (that is, defendants accused of the same offense will have the same bond amount applied 
  to them) ... But by setting out a simple matrix of offenses and corresponding dollar amounts, bail schedules do not allow for meaningfully individualized considerations of a defendant’s circumstances ...</p>
  
  <p>Bail schedules may be mandatory or advisory and may be set at the state or local level. Once bail schedules are in place, however, they often become de facto law even if they are not formally mandatory.</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Rules in New Mexico</h2>

<p>The use of bail schedules, and the associated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_bondsman" rel="nofollow noreferrer">bail bonds industry</a>, is peculiar to the United States and has been widely criticised. As the CJPP report notes, bail schedules "are fundamentally inconsistent with individualized decision-making." In the jurisdiction you have referred to (New Mexico), a <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/New_Mexico_Changes_in_Regulations_Governing_Bail,_Constitutional_Amendment_1_(2016)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">constitutional amendment was passed in November 2016</a> to encourage a more flexible approach to setting bail. Section 13 of the <a href="http://www.sos.state.nm.us/nmconst2017.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Constitution of New Mexico</a> now provides:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A person who is not detainable on grounds of dangerousness nor a flight risk in the absence of bond and is otherwise eligible for bail shall not be detained solely because of financial inability to post a money or property bond. A defendant who is neither a danger nor a flight risk and who has a financial inability to post a money or property bond may file a motion with the court requesting relief from the requirement to post bond. The court shall rule on the motion in an expedited manner.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>On July 1, 2017, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued new rules to comply with the constitutional amendment which prohibit the use of "fixed money-bail schedules that do not take into account evidence of dangerousness or flight risk cannot be used": New Mexico Supreme Court, <a href="https://www.nmcourts.gov/uploads/files/REVISED-Pretrial%20Release%20and%20Detention%20Key%20Facts%209_28.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Key Facts and Law Regarding Pretrial Release and Detention</em></a>. However, the rules do permit the "standardized release of low-risk arrestees," and the process of "standardization" presumably involves a bail schedule:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In place of the various inconsistent fixed-money-bond schedules that had been used by many local jurisdictions despite their lack of consideration of individual risk and noncompliance with controlling law, the new rules (Rule 408) also provide tighter regulation of procedures for early release procedures by detention centers and court employees, allowing <strong>standardized release of low-risk arrestees prior to initial court appearances</strong> but ending the practice of releasing high-risk defendants on fixed money bond schedules before they appear before a judge for a detention or release hearing.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Given that the defendant in the case you have referred to was arrested less than two weeks ago, was extradited to New Mexico, and remains in custody, it is unclear that the bond amounts on the county inmate register have any significance. The situation may change at the next court hearing.</p>
