National Pretrial Overview and the 3DaysCount Campaign NCJA Regional Pretrial Meeting 2016 © 2016 Pretrial Justice Institute. All content herein is the sole property of Pretrial Justice Institute and all rights are reserved. Any further use, distribution or reproduction without express written consent is prohibited.

What is the current state of pretrial justice in America?

Average Money Bail for Felony Defendants After adjusting for inflation, this represents a 43% increase over 17 years

Rates of Detention by Race Justice Policy Institute (2012) Bail Fail: Why the US Should End the Practice of Using Money for Bail. Washington, DC: Justice Policy Institute.

What’s being done to fix pretrial injustice?

Trivia Opinion Poll: If you had to pick one of the following as the top-most priority for your jurisdiction’s pretrial system, which would you choose? a. Get the most public safety possible b. Get the most court appearance possible c. Ensure costly pretrial jail use is minimal

Support for Change

Statement from the Justice Department “It is the position of the United States that, as courts have long recognized, any bail or bond scheme that mandates payment of pre-fixed amounts for different offenses in order to gain pre-trial release, without any regard for indigence, not only violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, but also constitutes bad public policy.” —Statement of Interest, Varden v. City of Clanton, 2015

In the Public Eye

According to public polling, about what percentage of common citizens support the use of pretrial risk assessment tools instead of money bail? a. 25 b. 40 c. 60 d. 75

Public Polling: Risk Assessment vs. Cash Bail Likely Voters DemocratsIndependentsRepublicansWhites African Americans Latinos

State and Local Initiatives Kentucky New Jersey Colorado New Mexico Connecticut Others…

Federal Initiatives Department of Justice NIC’s Evidence-Based Decision Making Initiative BJA’s Smart Pretrial Initiative “No More Money Bail Act of 2016” – uses federal program funding as lever for reform

Case Study: New Jersey Independent study of New Jersey county jails August Governor Chris Christie signed comprehensive bail reform legislation November New Jersey voters passed ballot initiative enacting reform January legislation will take effect

What is 3DaysCount TM ? A nationwide initiative to support states to Reduce unnecessary arrests that destabilize families and communities, Replace discriminatory cash bail with practical, risk-based decision-making, and Restrict detention (after due process) to the small number of people who pose a genuine threat to public safety.

Campaign Strategies

Improve State Statutes & Court Rules Empower & Mobilize Community Improve State Constitutions Implement Statewide Evidence-Based Tools

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