Excessive bail refers to a particular amount of bail for a defendant when he or she is charged with a minor crime, and that is substantially more than required to guarantee that he or she will attend the court hearings.
In case the excessive bail is claimed, a motion for bail reduction can be made by the accused and if excessive bail is not granted, he or she can appeal to the court directly for the reduction of bail. The origin of the concept of excessive bail can be traced back to England, where sheriffs were allowed to set the amount of the bail and when an accused should be bailed.