Last week would have been my father Robert F. Kennedy’s 99th birthday. As attorney general, his career — and enduring legacy — was built on his commitment to the fair, just and equal application of law. Nowhere was this more evident than his efforts to reform our bail system.

In 1964, my father reminded the Senate at a hearing on bail legislation that in America we presume everyone is innocent until proven guilty. The bail system protects that ideal by letting judges release the accused from pretrial detention if they do not pose not a danger to the community, after posting a sum of money that will guarantee their appearance in court.

When properly functioning, the bail system prevents premature punishment of people merely accused of crimes but not convicted. It ensures that taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted on unnecessary incarceration.

Now that system is fundamentally threatened by a recent New York court case that could be heard by the Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, New York’s Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) issued a decision in a case called People v. Franklin. At the heart of the case is the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause, which guarantees a constitutional right to cross-examine accusers at a criminal trial. The confrontation right has long been a bedrock of our criminal legal system, ensuring that........

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