United States v. Salerno et al. (481 U.S. 739)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 26, 1987 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 481 U.S. 739 · 107 S. Ct. 2095
- Decided
- May 26, 1987
- Term
- October Term 1986
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Due Process
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. The Bail Reform Act of 1984 (Act) allows a federal court to detain an arrestee pending trial if the Government demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence after an adversary hearing that no release conditions “will reasonably assure . . . the safety of any other person and the community.” The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck down this provision of the Act as facially unconstitutional, because, in that court’s words, this type of pretrial detention violates “substantive due process.” We granted certiorari because of a conflict among the Courts of Appeals regarding the validity of the Act. 479 U. S. 929 (1986). We hold that, as against the facial attack mounted by these respondents, the Act fully comports with constitutional requirements. We therefore reverse. r — 4 Responding to “the alarming problem of crimes committed by persons on release,” S. Rep. No. 98-225, p. 3 (1983), Congress formulated the Bail Reform Act of 1984, 18 U. S. C. §3141 et seq. (1982 ed., Supp. III), as the solution to a bail crisis in the federal courts. The Act represents the National Legislature’s considered response to numerous perceived deficiencies in the federal bail process. By providing for sweeping changes in both the way federal courts consider bail applications and the circumstances under which bail is…
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