Lead judicial commissioner says change to Shelby Co. bail system is misleading, will have minimal effect on how bonds are set [Video]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – “A minimal effect on how bonds are set.” That’s the reaction from the lead judicial commissioner after District Attorney Steve Mulroy and Mayor Lee Harris announced a change to Shelby County’s bail system.

DA Mulroy announced last week that judicial commissioners will receive an additional page of data about their defendants to help them set the appropriate bail.

But, Lead Judicial Commissioner John Marshall says they already had access to that information.

He told Action News 5 that a new state law, not an additional piece of paper or more data, will make a difference when setting bail now.

“Judicial commissioners have always had access to a defendant’s full criminal history,” Marshall said in a statement provided to Action News 5. “To suggest otherwise is misleading.”

That statement is in response to Mulroy’s announcement that the 14 judicial commissioners appointed by the Shelby County Commission to set bail when a defendant …