I think the issue, though, is that nobody put up anywhere near $250 million to secure the bond (at least from my read of it).
This is one of the rare instances where general population outrage at this deal (read the NYTimes comments) is warranted. There are tons of poor folks who sit around wasting in jail, waiting for their trial, because they can't make bail. But this appears to be the case where the bail is "nominally" $250 million, but nobody had to guarantee that with reasonably equivalent collateral. I could be misunderstanding what collateral was put up, but the only thing that was mentioned was his parents house (which even in Palo Alto isn't $250 million).
You are correct. The parent’s home plus some assets of two other individuals probably totaling a max of $5 million but nowhere close to $250 million - which was a stupid amount to set in the first place. Either require a reasonable bond amount or deny bail.
I never claimed that rich and poor were equal under the justice system, just that the court seems to consider the loan (edit: bond) to be secured. It sounded like there was more on the line than just the house, didn't it?
This is one of the rare instances where general population outrage at this deal (read the NYTimes comments) is warranted. There are tons of poor folks who sit around wasting in jail, waiting for their trial, because they can't make bail. But this appears to be the case where the bail is "nominally" $250 million, but nobody had to guarantee that with reasonably equivalent collateral. I could be misunderstanding what collateral was put up, but the only thing that was mentioned was his parents house (which even in Palo Alto isn't $250 million).