Bail and Pretrial Release Decisions

Free, Marvin D.

doi:10.1300/j222v02n04_02

Cited by 18 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…In this case-control study, we observed no significant change in firearm mortality or shootings in the 3 years following bail reform in New Jersey, overall and within racialized groups. Our results are consistent with previous evidence that found no increases in new criminal charges against people who were released pretrial under bail reform . However, previous research has mainly studied outcomes among individuals released pretrial under bail reform, rather than for communities.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform

Jahn,

Simes,

Jay

2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceReducing the pretrial detention population has been a cornerstone of movements to end mass incarceration. Across many US cities, there are ongoing public debates on policies that would end pretrial detention due to the inability to afford bail, with some raising concerns that doing so would increase community violence.ObjectiveTo evaluate changes in firearm violence after New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform policy that eliminated financial barriers to avoiding pretrial detention.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis case-control study used synthetic control methods to examine changes in firearm mortality and combined fatal and nonfatal shootings in New Jersey (2014-2019). New Jersey was chosen because it was one of the first states to systematically implement cash bail reform. Outcomes in New Jersey were compared with a weighted combination of 36 states that did not implement any kind of reform to pretrial detention during the study period. Data were analyzed from April 2023 to March 2024.ExposureImplementation of New Jersey’s cash bail reform law in 2017.Main Outcomes and MeasuresQuarterly rates of fatal and nonfatal firearm assault injuries and firearm self-harm injuries per 100 000 people.ResultsAlthough New Jersey’s pretrial detention population dramatically decreased under bail reform, the study did not find evidence of increases in overall firearm mortality (average treatment effect on the treated, −0.26 deaths per 100 000) or gun violence (average treatment effect on the treated, −0.24 deaths per 100 000), or within racialized groups during the postpolicy period.Conclusions and RelevanceIncarceration and gun violence are major public health problems impacting racially and economically marginalized groups. Cash bail reform may be an important tool for reducing pretrial detention and advancing health equity without exacerbating community violence.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Our results are consistent with previous evidence that found no increases in new criminal charges against people who were released pretrial under bail reform. 11 , 40 , 41 , 42 However, previous research has mainly studied outcomes among individuals released pretrial under bail reform, rather than for communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform

Jahn,

Simes,

Jay

2024

JAMA Netw Open

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“…Given that serious juvenile offenders transferred to juvenile court represent a special class of offenders who may receive differential judicial treatment (see Johnson & Kurlychek, 2012; Kurlychek & Johnson, 2004, 2010), this focus provides a robust test of the hypothesis. Similarly, since pretrial detention decisions predict later outcomes (Wooldredge et al, 2015) and are less visible than sentencing—possibly subject to greater discretion (Free, 2004)—it stands out as particularly important. Due to the complexity of racial and ethnic threat hypotheses, analyses were conducted using both static and dynamic measures of threat and were tested in terms of both diffuse threat (i.e., direct effects) and targeted threat (i.e., conditional effects).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, prior research indicates that race is significantly related to detention (e.g., Oleson et al, 2017; Wooldredge, 2012). Given that the pretrial decision is less visible than sentencing, there may even be increased risk of differential treatment based on race (Free, 2004). Second, detention status represents a consistent predictor of sentencing outcomes, perhaps because custody acts as a signal of dangerousness (Steiner, 2009).…”

Section: Minority Threat Hypothesis: Theory and Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Minority Threat Hypothesis for Juveniles in Criminal Court

Zane

2017

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice

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In the context of the criminal justice system, the minority threat hypothesis posits that a growing minority population will exacerbate racial and ethnic disparities as those in power seek to establish social control over the threatening population. Decades of research have produced mixed findings, possibly due to the varied approaches to testing this hypothesis as well as the different populations to whom it is applied. To fully explore the racial and ethnic threat hypotheses for an underexamined population-juveniles transferred to criminal court-and an underexamined outcome-pretrial detention-the present article employs a series of multilevel models to test several versions of the hypothesis. Specifically, the article distinguishes between two measures of minority threat-static and dynamic-and two types of threat effects-diffuse and targeted. Findings indicate limited support for the minority threat hypothesis in all forms. Several interpretations are offered, ranging from consideration of the need for more informed measures of threat to a possible need to modify or abandon the minority threat hypothesis in the context of juvenile and criminal justice processing.

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“…Although a large study conducted 50 years ago by the Vera Foundation found that defendants who were detained before trial in New York were significantly more likely to be convicted and incarcerated (Ares, Rankin, & Sturz, 1963; Rankin, 1964), the effects of pretrial release and detention on subsequent sentencing decisions remain under-researched. Only a few studies have examined the relationship (e.g., Feeley, 1992; Free, 2004; Philips, 2007, 2008, 2012; Sacks & Ackerman, 2012; Tartaro & Sedelmaier, 2009; Williams, 2003).…”

Section: The Effects Of Pretrial Release/detention On Sentencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sentencing Consequences of Federal Pretrial Supervision

Oleson

Lowenkamp

Wooldredge

et al. 2016

Crime & Delinquency

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Legal variables, such as offense severity and criminal history, principally shape sentencing decisions, but extralegal factors such as race, gender, and age also influence sentencing outcomes. Studies focusing on the effect of pretrial detention on sentencing outcomes usually associate pretrial detention with negative sentencing outcomes. The current study followed 90,037 federal defendants from indictment through sentencing, and measured the effects of pretrial detention on sentencing decisions. Detention (and, to a lesser degree, revocation of pretrial release) was associated with increased likelihood of receiving a prison sentence and greater sentence length, even when controlling for offense severity and criminal history scores.

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Bail and Pretrial Release Decisions

Cited by 18 publications

References 60 publications

Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform

Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform

Exploring the Minority Threat Hypothesis for Juveniles in Criminal Court

The Sentencing Consequences of Federal Pretrial Supervision

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