An Ohio Senate bill that would give judges the authority to deny bail to an accused person considered to be a serious threat to the community has been sent to the House Criminal Justice Committee.

Senate Bill 8 specifies when and how a judge can use the right to deny bail. To exercise the right, a judge must find clear and convincing evidence showing the accused person poses a threat to the community.

This denial of bail can be used in cases involving capital offenses, murder, felonies of the first or second degree, aggravated vehicular homicide or operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a fourth-degree felony. If the judge wishes to deny bail in cases involving other charges, the judge must have a hearing before denying bail, according to the bill.

The judge considers many factors when determining whether the person is a possible threat to society. When deciding this, the judge can examine a person's character and history, including physical and mental conditions, family ties, history of drug and alcohol abuse and a person's criminal record, according to the bill.

"Quite frankly, before, a judge was not allowed to deny bail unless it was a capital offense case," said Sen. James Carnes, R-St. Clairsville, who voted for the bill. "Now judges have the right to deny bail and the people have shown overwhelming support for this."

This bill is a more detailed version of the amendment voters passed in November 1997.

"This amendment was suggested to me by (then) Gov. Voinovich's Task Force on Gun Violence report. The report made a series of recommendations, and I thought that this was an issue that I could help to enact as a law," said Rep. Jeff Jacobson, R-Phillipsburg, the sponsor of the original amendment. Carnes said this bill is another effort to keep streets safe.

Athens County Prosecutor Bill Biddlestone said this bill possibly could protect the victim.

"My belief is that the court should have taken into account the effect on the victim. In order to protect the victim effectively, the court should consider these factors of whether or not to deny bail. This is a valuable thing for the judge to be able to do," Biddlestone said.

However, David Baer, managing attorney at Ohio University's Center for Student Advocacy, said the judicial system does not need this bill.

"This law is another example of a law that has been passed for the politics rather than for the reality of it," Baer said. "Judges already had the authority. They could have made the bail such a high level that the accused person could not have gotten out. It is taking more and more discretion out of the hands of the judges."

Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Ward said he could not comment on the bill because he only can comment on specific cases.