Pre-trial release for white-collar defendants in federal criminal cases is usually a given. White-collar defendants typically are not considered a danger to the community, and their risk of flight is often considered low because in the usual case they do not have any prior criminal history.

The purpose of the Bail Reform Act of 1984 (the Bail Reform Act), 18 U.S.C. §§ 3141, et seq., is to ensure the defendant's reasonable appearance in court. Indeed, the act requires the court to release a defendant pending trial unless such release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required or will endanger the safety of any other person or the community. As a result, some of the most notorious white-collar defendants, facing significant charges and sentences, were at least initially released on bond, i.e., Bernie Madoff, Samuel Bankman-Fried, Elizabeth Holmes, Sunny Balwani and Jeffry Skilling, just to name a few.