—that any individual charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty
This is a core principle of the U.S. justice system. Being arrested doesn’t mean that a person is guilty. It doesn’t even mean that a person is going to ultimately be charged with a crime. Understanding how our justice system functions—and how the Minnesota Freedom Fund helps those who have been caught up in an often unfair and unjust system—also means understanding the differences between being arrested, charged, convicted, and sentenced.
What does it mean to be arrested?
Simply put, being arrested means that one is taken into police custody. A person can be arrested if police have probable cause to believe that the person committed a crime, but it doesn’t automatically mean that the person is guilty, or will even face charges.
What happens next?
The police file a report after every arrest. A county or city prosecutor reviews the report, and generally decides within 36 hours whether or not the person who has been arrested should be charged with committing a crime. If the answer is no, the person is released—there are no charges filed, no bail posted, and no trial.
If the prosecutor does decide to charge the person with a crime, a judge sets the amount of their cash bail, or how much money they will have to pay to leave police custody and be reunited with their family and friends until their trial starts.
At the person’s trial—which could come days, weeks, or even months after their arrest — a judge or jury will determine whether they are found guilty of committing the crime they have been accused of, and then will decide on their sentence.
What happens if you’re arrested but not charged?
Sometimes police arrest people they have no intention of charging and then release them later, which is frequently used in protest responses.
That means they’re not held in jail —and that a judge never has a chance to set bail for them. Some people are released without bail, but with charges that they’ll have to return to court at a later date to address. For the remainder — the ones who are charged with a crime and held on bail — the MFF steps in to help with cash bail support.
Where does the Minnesota Freedom Fund come in?
We believe in every individual’s right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and that all people should be treated equally under the law, regardless of personal income or wealth. Pre-trial jailing uses captivity, deprivation, and the threat of lost jobs, housing, and child custody to pressure plea bargains in a way that undercuts their due process rights and harms communities. No one should have to languish in jail just because they can’t afford to pay their cash bail and don’t have the same resources as others with more privilege.
In practice, that means we pay the cash bail for defendants who had their bail amount set by a judge, and provide other forms of support for those released without bail but who still face charges.
We are dedicated to bailing out as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, and with as much support as we can make available while at the same time joining other allies in advocating for comprehensive criminal justice reform.
Those who have been arrested and need assistance, or their friends and relatives, can request financial assistance directly from the Minnesota Freedom Fund here.
