After a legal and political full-court press by bail bond agents, Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry agreed to change the rules governing a pre-trial release program, he said Tuesday.

The judge's move could force an estimated 17 extra Orange County prisoners to either spend a night in jail before seeing a judge the next day -- or pay a bail bondsman to get them out immediately. Under Perry's previous order, jail officials could determine if inmates qualified for the pre-trial release program and release them before a judge reviewed the case. This was costing the bail-bond industry business.
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