A 2016 Inquirer analysis found that bail commissioners routinely set bail for teens facing adult charges far above guidelines, at an average of $248,000, without considering holding a full hearing or considering the youths' ability to pay. In 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals' Third Circuit weighed in on the Lehigh County case of Joseph Curry, who was jailed for months on $20,000 bail for trying to scam a Walmart out of $130.27, and eventually took a plea deal so he could go home; the court described such bail practices as a "threat to equal justice under the law."