A student presentation for Woodland Community College

1. To Bail or Not to Bail
Opinions On Bail Based On a
Defendant's Socioeconomic Status:
A Pilot Study
Gina Lloyd
Soci-8: Social Science Research Methods
Professor Kirschner

2. Research Topic

3.  How does a defendant’s socioeconomic status affect peoples’ opinions
of the appropriate amount of bail they should be given?
 In the United States, we currently use a Cash Bail system. Cash bail is an
amount of money, assigned by a court, that a person must pay in order to
be released from custody after an arrest. Court decisions on bail amounts
range from a defendant being released with no cost bail to a defendant
being held in custody with no bail.

4.  Hypothesis: Opinions will impose greater bail amounts on a defendant
with a lower socioeconomic status versus one with a higher
socioeconomic status.
 Significance: To understand disparities in opinions on pre-trial bail
decisions and how they affect vulnerable populations.

5. Reviewing the Literature

6.  Existing Research has shown that a defendant’s race can negatively
influence the amount assigned in pre-trial bail decisions. Black and
Hispanic defendant’s are more likely to have higher bail amounts imposed,
(Sacks, 2015) but little to no research has been conducted to study how a
defendant’s socioeconomic status alone affects bail decisions.

7. Research Method

8.  I conducted a Quasi-Experimental Quantitative Study using two separate
surveys with identical questions and controls. In each survey the
defendant’s age, race, gender and type of crime were held constant. The
only difference was the defendant’s socioeconomic status, which was
indicated through the type of occupation the defendant was assigned.
 I chose this method because it would allow for the most reliable data and
it could be distributed digitally. It was the most convenient and cost
effective method for this study.

9. The Instrument

10.  I created two surveys using the free online service Survey Monkey.
 I distributed one of the surveys electronically through Facebook and had a
relative distribute the other, also through Facebook, to collect responses.
 The surveys consisted of nine questions and took on average 5 minutes to
complete.
 I used available data on income brackets and the median salaries for
different occupations to determine which to use for this study.

11.  Income brackets I used are as follows:
Household Income Range Number of Houses (mil) % of TotalNotes
Less than $20,000 16.8 13.1% Below or near poverty level
$20,000 - $44,999 25.8 20.0% Low income
$45,000 - $139,999 59.3 46.1% Middle class
$140,000 - $149,999 2.7 2.1% Upper middle class
$150,000 - $199,999 10.6 8.2% High income
$200,000+ 13.2 10.3% Highest tax brackets
Total 128.4 100% (Amadeo, 2020)
 Based on these Income Ranges I chose to use the careers of a Janitor
of a Software Company to represent Low Income and a Software
Company Engineer to represent Upper Middle Class Income. (Bui,
2014)

12. Sampling

13.  Due to time constraints, and for the purpose of this Pilot Study, I used
convenience sampling through the use of social media.
 The sample consisted of adults 18 or older within the United States.
 I was limited to 40 responses per survey so I had a very small sample
size. I was unable to get a representative sample and the data
collected was not generalizable.
 Ethical Considerations: The survey was conducted through an
anonymous online survey so no written informed consent was
required.

14. Research Findings

15. Age # Out of 40 Percentage
18-24 1 2.5%
25-34 5 12.5%
35-44 18 45%
45-54 10 25%
55-64 3 7.5%
65-74 2 5%
75+ 1 2.5%
Survey 1 – Low Socioeconomic Status
Age # Out of 40 Percentage
18-24 0 0%
25-34 10 25%
35-44 6 15%
45-54 11 27.5%
55-64 7 17.5%
65-74 6 15%
75+ 0 0%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Demographics by Age
Survey 1 Survey 2
45%
25%
12.5%
2.5%
15%
25%
27.5%
7.5%
17.5%
5%
15%
2.5%

16. Gender # Out of 40 Percentage
Female 34 85%
Male 6 15%
Prefer Not to Say 0 0%
Survey 1 – Low Socioeconomic Status
Gender # Out of 40 Percentage
Female 35 87.5%
Male 4 10%
Prefer Not to Say 1 2.5%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Female Male Prefer Not to Say
Demographics by Gender
Survey 1 Survey 2
87.5%
85%
15%
10%
2.5%

17. Race or Ethnicity # Out of 40 Percentage
Asian 1 2.5%
Black or African American 1 2.5%
Hispanic or Latino 8 20%
Middle Eastern or North African 0 0%
Native American or Alaska Native 1 2.5%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 2.5%
White 35 87.5%
Other – Self Identified 0 0%
Survey 1 – Low Socioeconomic Status
Race or Ethnicity # Out of 40 Percentage
Asian 1 2.5%
Black or African American 2 5%
Hispanic or Latino 1 2.5%
Middle Eastern or North African 0 0%
Native American or Alaska Native 1 2.5%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0 0%
White 40 100%
Other – Self Identified 1 2.5%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Asian Black or
African
American
Hispanic or
Latino
Native
American or
Alaska Native
Native
Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White Other
Demographics by Race or Ethnicity
Survey 1 Survey 2
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
5%
20%
87.5%
100%

18. Highest Education Level # Out of 40 Percentage
Less than High School 0 0%
High School/GED 3 7.5%
Some College 10 25%
College Degree/Diploma 17 42.5%
Graduate Degree or Above 10 25%
Prefer Not to Say 0 0%
Survey 1 – Low Socioeconomic Status
Highest Education Level # Out of 40 Percentage
Less than High School 0 0%
High School/GED 0 0%
Some College 15 37.5%
College Degree/Diploma 11 27.5%
Graduate Degree or Above 13 32.5%
Prefer Not to Say 1 2.5%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
High School/GED Some College College
Degree/Diploma
Graduate Degree or
Above
Prefer Not to Say
Demographics by Education
Survey 1 Survey 2
7.5%
25% 25%
42.5%
37.5%
32.5%
27.5%
2.5%

19. Annual Household Income # Out of 40 Percentage
Less than $20,000 1 2.5%
$20,000 - $44,999 4 10%
$45,000 - $139,999 21 52.5%
$140,000 - $149,999 4 10%
$150,000 - $199,999 4 10%
$200,000+ 5 12.5%
Prefer Not to Say 0 0%
Survey 1 – Low Socioeconomic Status
Annual Household Income # Out of 40 Percentage
Less than $20,000 1 2.5%
$20,000 - $44,999 1 2.5%
$45,000 - $139,999 26 65%
$140,000 - $149,999 5 12.5%
$150,000 - $199,999 5 12.5%
$200,000+ 1 2.5%
Prefer Not to Say 1 2.5%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Less than
$20,000
$20,000 -
$44,999
$45,000 -
$139,999
$140,000 -
$149,999
$150,000 -
$199,999
$200,000+ Prefer Not to
Say
Demographics by Income
Survey 1 Survey 2
2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%
10%
52.5%
65%
10% 10%
12.5% 12.5% 12.5%

20. Victim of a Crime # Out of 40 Percentage
Yes 27 67.5%
No 13 32.5%
Survey 1 – Low Socioeconomic Status
Victim of a Crime # Out of 40 Percentage
Yes 32 80%
No 8 20%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
Committed a Crime # Out of 40 Percentage
Yes 18 45%
No 22 55%
Survey 1 Low Socioeconomic Status
Committed A Crime # Out of 40 Percentage
Yes 20 50%
No 20 50%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
67.5%
32.5%
Victim of a Crime – Survey 1
YES NO
80%
20%
Victim of a Crime – Survey 2
YES NO
45%
55%
Committed a Crime – Survey 1
YES NO
50%
50%
Committed a Crime – Survey 2
YES NO

21. Bail Amount # Out of 40 Percentage
No Cost or Minimum
Bail
5 12.5%
Mid-Range Bail 6 15%
Maximum or Held
Without Bail
29 72.5%
Survey 1 – Low Socioeconomic Status
Bail Amount # Out of 40 Percentage
No Cost or Minimum
Bail
8 20%
Mid-Range Bail 7 17.5%
Maximum or Held
Without Bail
25 62.5%
Survey 2 – High Socioeconomic Status
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
No Cost or Minimum Bail Mid-Range Bail Maximum or Held Without Bail
Opinions on Bail
Survey 1 Survey 2
12.5%
15%
72.5%
20% 17.5%
62.5%

22. The data collected from the sample indicates that:
A larger percent of respondents chose higher bail amounts in
Survey 1, where the occupation of the defendant is representative
of a lower socioeconomic status, than respondents in Survey 2,
where the occupation of the defendant is representative of a higher
socioeconomic status.
A larger percent of respondents chose lower bail amounts in Survey
2 than respondents in Survey 1.
Because of the small sample size and the lack of diversity in its
respondents no real conclusions can be drawn from this study.

23. Next Steps

24. I would conduct a research study using cluster sampling on
a much larger scale in order to ensure I had both a random
and representative sample to analyze.
I would change my Unit of Observation and Analysis to
individuals over the age of 18 who live in California. This
would be a more feasible sample size than if I chose to
study the entire United States Population.

25. Works Cited
Amadeo, K. (2020, October 24). What is middle-class income? Retrieved March 06, 2021, from
https://www.thebalance.com/definition-of-middle-class-income-4126870
Bui, Q. (2014, October 16). The most common jobs for the rich, middle class and poor. Retrieved February 21, 2021,
from https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/10/16/356176018/the-most-popular-jobs-for-the-rich-middle-class-
and-poor
Sacks, M., Sainato, V.A., & Ackerman, A.R. (2015), Sentenced to Pretrial Detention: A Study of Bail Decisions and
Outcomes. American Journal of Criminal Justice: AJC, 40 (3), 661-681. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-
9268-0

26. Researcher’s Bio
Gina Lloyd is double majoring in Sociology and Political Science and
plans to transfer after the Fall 2021 semester.
Her passion lies in Criminal Justice reform and after receiving her
degree she plans to attend Law School to become a Defense Attorney.
She firmly believes in restorative justice and hopes to become a Public
Defender so she can help to serve underrepresented populations.