Bail Reform in the United States: The What, Why, and How of Third Wave Efforts

Bail is the practice of using money or property as an assurance that a person charged with a criminal offense will return for their scheduled court dates and not engage in criminal activity during the pretrial period. However, there is limited evidence supporting bail as an intervention in these ways, despite the steady increase in both the use and amount of bail since the late 1980s. Instead, bail is widely criticized for emphasizing resource-based decisions that have unnecessarily increased rates of pretrial detention in the United States and have contributed to cumulative and disproportionate disadvantage for people of color and low-income people involved in the American legal system. Consequently, there is widespread agreement that bail reform is needed and, yet, what this means in policy and practice is widely contested. In this chapter, we review bail decision-making practices, their impact overall and for marginalized groups, and bail reform efforts over time, including ongoing challenges or concerns.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime

Buy Now

eBook EUR 181.89 Price includes VAT (France)

Softcover Book EUR 232.09 Price includes VAT (France)

Hardcover Book EUR 232.09 Price includes VAT (France)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Similar content being viewed by others

Bail Decisions: Key Challenges Driving Bail Refusal

Collective Redress in Brazil: Success or Disappointment?

The Disappearing Trial: Retrenchment of Litigation in North America

Notes

The role of magistrates varies by state but generally, magistrates are appointed judicial officers that serve at the discretion of elected US district court judges. Magistrates can reside over almost any type of court proceeding with a few exceptions (e.g., felony cases; Federal Judicial Center, n.d.).

Studies included here identify people as Hispanic, without providing a specific definition, likely a result of the way race/ethnicity is recorded in arrest and jail records (Eppler-Epstein et al., 2016).

References

• Advancing Pretrial Policy & Research (APPR). (2020, October). Pretrial drug testing. Retrieved from https://advancingpretrial.org/appr/appr-resources/pretrial-research-summaries/
• American Bar Association (ABA). (2004, December). Gideon’s broken promise: America’s continuing quest for equal justice. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_aid:indigent_defendants/ls_sclaid:def_bp_right_to_counsel_in_criminal_proceedings.authcheckdam.pdf
• American Bar Association (ABA). (2007). ABA standards for criminal justice: Pretrial release, 3rd edition. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/publications/criminal_justice_section_archive/crimjust_standards_pretrialrelease_toc/
• American Bar Association (ABA). (2017). Criminal justice standards for the defense function, 4th edition. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/standards/DefenseFunctionFourthEdition/
• American Bar Association (ABA). (2019, September 9). How courts work. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/bail/#:~:text=Bail%20is%20the%20amount%20of,which%20they%20must%20be%20present
• Anderson, C., Redcross, C., Valentine, E., & Miratrix, L. (2019, November). Evaluation of pretrial justice system reforms that use the public safety assessment: Effects of New Jersey’s criminal justice reform. MDRC Center for Criminal Justice Research. Retrieved from https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/PSA_New_Jersey_Report_%231.pdf
• Arnold, D., Dobbie, W., & Yang, C. S. (2018). Racial bias in bail decisions. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133(4), 1885–1932. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjy012ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Bail bond agents. (2019, March 26). FindLaw. Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/bail-bond-agents.html
• Bail Reform Act of 1966, 18 U.S.C. § 3146–3151. (1966). Retrieved from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-80/pdf/STATUTE-80-Pg214.pdf
• Bail Reform Act of 1984, H.R. 5865, 98th Cong. (1984). Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-bill/5865
• Bak, T. (2002). Pretrial release behavior of defendants whom the U. S. attorney wished to detain. American Journal of Criminal Law; Austin, 30(1), 45–74. Google Scholar
• Ball, J., & Bostaph, L. G. (2009). He versus she: A gender-specific analysis of legal and extralegal effects on pretrial release for felony defendants. Women & Criminal Justice, 19(2), 95–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974450902791286ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Banks, R. R., Eberhardt, J. L., & Ross, L. (2006). Discrimination and implicit bias in a racially unequal society. California Law Review, 94(4), 1169–1190. https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38TQ5BArticleGoogle Scholar
• Baughman, S. B. (2017a). Costs of pretrial detention. Boston University Law Review, 97(1) Retrieved from https://dc.law.utah.edu/scholarship/19/
• Baughman, S. B. (2017b). The bail book: A comprehensive look at bail in America’s criminal justice system. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316443194BookGoogle Scholar
• Bechtel, K., Holsinger, A. M., Lowenkamp, C. T., & Warren, M. J. (2017). A meta-analytic review of pretrial research: Risk assessment, bond type, and interventions. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(2), 443–467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-016-9367-1ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Bernal, D. (2017). Taking the court to the people: Real-world solutions for nonappearance. Arizona Law Review, 59, 547–571. Retrieved from https://arizonalawreview.org/pdf/59-2/59arizlrev547.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Bornstein, B. H., Tomkins, A. J., Neeley, E. M., Herian, M. N., & Hamm, J. A. (2012). Reducing courts’ failure-to-appear rate by written reminders. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 19(1), 70–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026293ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Britt, C. L., III, Gottfredson, M. R., & Goldkamp, J. S. (1992). Drug testing and pretrial misconduct: An experiment on the specific deterrent effects of drug monitoring defendants on pretrial release. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 29(1), 62–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427892029001004ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Brooker, C. M. (2017, November). Yakima County, Washington pretrial justice system improvements: Pre- and post-implementation analysis. Smart Pretrial Demonstration Initiative. Retrieved from https://justicesystempartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2017-Yakima-Pretrial-Pre-Post-Implementation-Study-FINAL-111517.pdf
• Bunin, A. (2016). The constitutional right to counsel at bail hearings. Criminal Justice; Chicago, 31(1), 23–26. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/cjust31&i=25Google Scholar
• Cadigan, T. P. (1991). Electronic monitoring in federal pretrial release. Federal Probation, 55(1), 26–30. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/133410NCJRS.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Carlucci, W. M. (2020). Death of a bail bondsman: The implementation and success of nonmonetary, risk-based bail systems. Emory Law Journal, 69(6) Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/elj/vol69/iss6/2
• Centers for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2005). Substance abuse treatment for adults in the criminal justice system: Treatment improvement protocol (TIP) series 44 [publication no. SMA 13–4056]. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/d7/priv/sma13-4056.pdf
• Cohen, T. H., Lowenkamp, C. T., Bechtel, K., & Flores, A. W. (2020). Risk assessment overrides: Shuffling the risk deck without any improvements in prediction. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(12), 1609–1629. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854820953449ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Cohen, T. H., & Reaves, B. A. (2007, November). State court processing statistics, 1990–2004: Pretrial release of felony defendants in state courts. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/prfdsc.pdf
• Cooke, B., Diop, B.Z., Fishbane, A., Hayes, J., Ouss, A., & Shah, A. (2018, January). Using behavioral science to improve criminal justice outcomes: Preventing failures to appear in court. University of Chicago Crime Lab, ideas42. Retrieved from https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/crim-just-report.pdf
• Cooprider, K. W., & Kerby, J. (1990). A practical application of electronic monitoring at the pretrial stage. Federal Probation, 54(1), 28–35. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/fedpro54&i=30Google Scholar
• Council of Economic Advisers. (2015, December). Fines, fees, and bail: Payments in the criminal justice system that disproportionately impact the poor. US Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisers. Retrieved from https://nicic.gov/fines-fees-and-bail-payments-criminal-justice-system-disproportionately-impact-poor
• Crozier, W., & Garrett, B. (2020). Driven to failure: Analysis of failure to appear and pay driver’s license suspension policy in North Carolina. Duke Law Journal, 69, 1585–1641. Retrieved from https://dlj.law.duke.edu/article/driven-to-failure-crozier-vol69-iss7/Google Scholar
• Cumberbatch, J. R., & Barnes, G. C. (2018). This nudge was not enough: A randomized trial of text message reminders of court dates to victims and witnesses. Cambridge Journal of Evidence-Based Policing, 2(1–2), 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41887-018-0024-4ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Davis, W. (2005). Should Georgia change its misdemeanor arrest laws to authorize issuing more field citations? Georgia State University Law Review, 22, 313–359. Retrieved from https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/gsulr/vol22/iss2/6Google Scholar
• Deitch, M., Welch, A., & Bucknall, W, & Moreno, D. (2020, November). COVID and corrections: A profile of COVID deaths in custody in Texas. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved from https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/83635/Profile%20of%20COVID%20deaths%20in%20custody.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y
• Demuth, S. (2003). Racial and ethnic differences in pretrial release decisions and outcomes: A comparison of Hispanic, black, and white felony arrestees. Criminology, 41(3), 873–908. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb01007.xArticleGoogle Scholar
• Demuth, S., & Steffensmeier, D. (2004). The impact of gender and race-ethnicity in the pretrial release process. Social Problems, 51(2), 222–242. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2004.51.2.222ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Desmarais, S. L., & Lowder, E. M. (2019, February). Pretrial risk assessment tools: A primer for judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Safety and Justice Challenge. Retrieved from http://www.safetyandjusticechallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pretrial-Risk-Assessment-Primer-February-2019.pdf
• Desmarais, S. L., Zottola, S. A., Duhart Clarke, S., & Lowder, E. M. (2020). Predictive validity of pretrial risk assessments: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854820932959
• Dobbie, W., Goldin, J., & Yang, C. S. (2018). The effects of pretrial detention on conviction, future crime, and employment: Evidence from randomly assigned judges. American Economic Review, 108(2), 201–240. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20161503ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Duhart Clarke, S. E., Zottola, S. A., Desmarais, S. L., Neuport, S. D., Lowder, E. M., Dong, L., Laber, E. B., & Van Dorn, R. A. (2019, August 8–11). The relationship between indigent defense status and bail amounts [paper presentation]. American Psychological Association Annual Convention,. Google Scholar
• Eckhouse, L., Lum, K., Conti-Cook, C., & Ciccolini, J. (2018). Layers of bias: A unified approach for understanding problems with risk assessment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 46(2), 185–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854818811379ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Eppler-Epstein, S., Gurvis, A., & King, R. (2016, December). The alarming lack of data on Latinos in the criminal justice system. Urban Institute. Retrieved from https://apps.urban.org/features/latino-criminal-justice-data/
• Fausset, R. (2018, January 11). Bail was $500, money he didn’t have. Atlanta faces calls for change. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/us/atlanta-bail-courts-reform.html
• Federal Judicial Center (FJC). (n.d.). Magistrate judgeships. Retrieved from https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/magistrate-judgeships
• Feeley, M. M. (1979). The process is the punishment: Handling cases in a lower criminal court. Russell Sage Foundation. Google Scholar
• Ferri, R. (2020). The benefits of live court date reminder phone calls during pretrial case processing. Journal of Experimental Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-020-09423-0
• Foote, C. (1965). Coming constitutional crisis in bail: I. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 113(7), 959–999. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_review/vol113/iss7/1/ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Free, M. D., Jr. (2002). Race and presentencing decisions in the United States: A summary and critique of the research. Criminal Justice Review, 27(2), 203–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/073401680202700202ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Freiburger, T. L., & Hilinski, C. M. (2010). The impact of race, gender, and age on the pretrial decision. Criminal Justice Review, 35(3), 318–334. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016809360332ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Freiburger, T. L., Marcum, C. D., & Pierce, M. (2010). The impact of race on the pretrial decision. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 35(1), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-009-9069-zArticleGoogle Scholar
• Fullard, D. A. (2015, October 20). Op-ed: Bail reform needs a mental health component. City Limits. Retrieved from https://citylimits.org/2015/10/20/op-ed-bail-reform-needs-a-mental-health-component/
• Garrett, B. L., Jakubow, A., & Monahan, J. (2019). Judicial reliance on risk assessment in sentencing drug and property offenders: A test of the treatment resource hypothesis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 46(6), 799–810. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854819842589ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Gehring, K. S., & van Voorhis, P. (2014). Needs and pretrial failure: Additional risk factors for female and male pretrial defendants. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 41(8), 943–970. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854814538022ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Gerstein, C. (2013). Plea bargaining and the right to counsel at bail hearings. Michigan Law Review, 111(8), 1513–1534. Retrieved from https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol111/iss8/4/Google Scholar
• Goddard, T., & Myers, R. (2018). Youth, community and the struggle for social justice. Routledge. Google Scholar
• Goldkamp, J. S., Gottfredson, M. R., & Weiland, D. (1990). Pretrial drug testing and defendant risk. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 81(3), 585–652. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/jclc81&i=595ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Goldkamp, J. S., & Jones, P. R. (1992). Pretrial drug-testing experiments in Milwaukee and Prince George’s county: The context of implementation. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 29(4), 430–465. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427892029004003ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Gouldin, L. P. (2016). Disentangling flight risk from dangerousness. Birmingham Young University Law Review, 3(5), 838–898. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol2016/iss3/5/Google Scholar
• Gouldin, L. P. (2018). Defining flight risk. The University of Chicago Law Review, 85(3), 677–742. Retrieved from https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/publication/defining-flight-riskGoogle Scholar
• Grommon, E., Rydberg, J., & Carter, J. G. (2017). Does GPS supervision of intimate partner violence defendants reduce pretrial misconduct? Evidence from a quasiexperimental study. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 13(4), 483–504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-017-9304-4ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Grove, W. M., Zald, D. H., Lebow, B. S., Snitz, B. E., & Nelson, C. (2000). Clinical versus mechanical prediction: A meta-analysis. Psychological Assessment, 12(1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.12.1.19ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Guttman, Z., Hebner, Y., Mori, K., & Balk, J. (2020). Beyond cash bail: Public health, risk assessment, and California Senate Bill 10. Journal of Science Policy & Governance, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG170107
• Hartford, K., Carey, R., & Mendonca, J. (2006). Pre-arrest diversion of people with mental illness: Literature review and international survey. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 24(6), 845–856. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.738ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Hatton, R., & Smith, J. (2020, May). Research on the effectiveness of pretrial support and supervision services: A guide for pretrial services programs. UNC School of Government, Criminal Justice Innovation Lab. Retrieved from https://cjil.sog.unc.edu/files/2020/05/Research-on-the-Effectiveness-of-Pretrial-Support-Supervision-Services-5.28.2020.pdf
• Heaton, P., Mayson, S., & Stevenson, M. (2017). The downstream consequences of misdemeanor pretrial detention. Stanford Law Review, 69(3), 711–794. Retrieved from https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/print/article/the-downstream-consequences-of-misdemeanor-pretrial-detention/Google Scholar
• Herring, T. (2020, November 17). Releasing people pretrial doesn’t harm public safety. Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/11/17/pretrial-releases/
• Howat, H., Forsyth, C. J., Biggar, R., & Howat, S. (2016). Improving court-appearance rates through court-date reminder phone calls. Criminal Justice Studies, 29(1), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2015.1121875ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Johnson, B. D., & King, R. D. (2017). Facial profiling: Race, physical appearance, and punishment. Criminology, 55(3), 520–547. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12143ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Jones, C. E. (2013). “Give us free”: Addressing racial disparities in bail determinations. New York University Journal of Legislation & Public Policy, 16, 919–961. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/301Google Scholar
• Kellough, G., & Wortley, S. (2002). Remand for plea. Bail decisions and plea bargaining as commensurate decisions. British Journal of Criminology, 42(1), 186–210. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/42.1.186ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Kim, K., Becker-Cohen, M., & Serakos, M. (2015, March). The processing and treatment of mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system. The Urban Institute. Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/research/publication/processing-and-treatment-mentally-ill-persons-criminal-justice-system
• Kochel, T. R., Wilson, D. B., & Mastrofski, S. D. (2011). Effect of suspect race on officers’ arrest decisions. Criminology, 49(2), 473–512. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00230.xArticleGoogle Scholar
• Krauss, D. A., Cook, G. I., & Klapatch, L. (2018). Risk assessment communication difficulties: An empirical examination of the effects of categorical versus probabilistic risk communication in sexually violent predator decisions. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 36(5), 532–553. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2379ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Kurlychek, M. C., & Johnson, B. D. (2019). Cumulative disadvantage in the American criminal justice system. Annual Review of Criminology, 2, 291–319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011518-024815ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Kutateladze, B. L., & Andiloro, N. R. (2014). Prosecution and racial justice in New York County. Vera Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.vera.org/downloads/Publications/race-and-prosecution-in-manhattan/legacy_downloads/race-and-prosecution-manhattan-technical.pdf
• Kutateladze, B. L., Andiloro, N. R., & Johnson, B. D. (2016). Opening pandora’s box: How does defendant race influence plea bargaining? Justice Quarterly, 33(3), 398–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2014.915340ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Larrimore, J., Dodini, S., & Thomas, L. (2016, May). Report on the economic well-being of US households in 2015. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Retrieved from https://www.federalreserve.gov/2015-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201605.pdf
• Lartey, J. (2020, April 23). New York rolled back bail reform. What will the rest of the country do? The Marshall Project. Retrieved from https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/04/23/in-new-york-s-bail-reform-backlash-a-cautionary-tale-for-other-states
• Latessa, E., Smith, P., Lemke, R., Makarios, M., & Lowenkamp, C. (2009). Creation and validation of the Ohio risk assessment system: Final report. University of Cincinnati. Retrieved from https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/ccjr/docs/reports/project_reports/ORAS_Final_Report.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. (2018). The use of pretrial “risk assessment” instruments: A shared statement of civil rights concerns. Retrieved from http://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/criminal-justice/Pretrial-Risk-Assessment-Full.pdf
• Lin, Z. J., Jung, J., Goel, S., & Skeem, J. (2020). The limits of human predictions of recidivism. Science Advances, 6(7), eaaz0652. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz0652ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Liptak, A. (2008, January 29). Illegal globally, bail for profit remains in U.S. New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/us/29bail.html
• Liu, P., Nunn, R., & Shambaugh, J. (2018). The economics of bail and pretrial detention. The Hamilton Project. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/BailFineReform_EA_121818_6PM.pdf
• Lowder, E. M., Grommon, E., & Ray, B. R. (2020a, Jun). Improving the accuracy and fairness of pretrial release decisions: A multi-site study of risk assessments implemented in four counties [Award # 2018-R2-CX-0023]. National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Google Scholar
• Lowder, E. M., Lawson, S. G., Grommon, E., & Ray, B. R. (2020b). Five-county validation of the Indiana risk assessment system – Pretrial assessment tool (IRAS-PAT) using a local validation approach. Justice Quarterly, 37(7), 1241–1260. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2020.1829006ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Lowder, E. M., Rhade, C. B., & Desmarais, S. L. (2018). Effectiveness of mental health courts in reducing recidivism: A meta-analysis. Psychiatric Services, 69(1), 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700107ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Lowenkamp, C. T., Holsinger, A. M., & Dierks, T. (2018). Assessing the effects of court date notifications within pretrial case processing. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(2), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-017-9393-7ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Lowenkamp, C. T., & Whetzel, J. (2009). Development of an actuarial risk assessment instrument for U.S. pretrial services. Federal Probation, 73(2), 33–36. Retrieved from https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/73_2_3_0.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Mahoney, B., Beaudin, B. D., Carver, J. A., III, Ryan, D. B., & Hoffman, R. B. (2001). Pretrial services programs: Responsibilities and potential (NCJ 181939). U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/181939.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Markowitz, F. E., & Syverson, J. (2019). Race, gender, and homelessness stigma: Effects of perceived blameworthiness and dangerousness. Deviant Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2019.1706140
• Marshall, R. (2016, August 24). America’s bail system is a war on the poor. Let’s get rid of it. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2016/8/24/12590060/doj-bail-unconstitutional
• Mayson, S. G. (2019). Bias in, bias out. Yale Law Journal, 128(8), 2218–2300. Retrieved from https://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/Mayson_p5g2tz2m.pdfGoogle Scholar
• McCoy, C. (2007). Caleb was right: Pretrial decisions determine mostly everything. Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, 12(2), 135–149. Retrieved from https://www.bjcl.org/assets/files/12_2-BerkeleyJCrimL135.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Meehl, P. E. (1954). Clinical versus statistical prediction: A theoretical analysis and a review of the evidence. University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/11281-000BookGoogle Scholar
• Menefee, M. R. (2018). The role of bail and pretrial detention in the reproduction of racial inequalities. Sociology Compass, 12(5), e12576. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12576ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Monaghan, J., van Holm, E. J., & Surprenant, C. W. (2020). Get jailed, jump bail? The impacts of cash bail on failure to appear and re-arrest in Orleans Parish. American Journal of Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09591-9
• National Association of Pretrial Service Agencies. (2020). Standards on pretrial release: Revised 2020. Retrieved from https://napsa.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=napsa&WebCode=standards
• New York City Criminal Justice Agency. (2018, March). Annual Report 2016. Retrieved from https://www.nycja.org/assets/CJA_Annual_Report_2016-1.pdf
• New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. (2020). Jail population in New York State. Retrieved from https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/jail_population.pdf
• Newport, M. (2020, June 17). Bail funds are having a moment in 2020. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/17/bond-funds-are-having-moment-2020
• Ottone, S., & Scott-Hayward, C. S. (2018). Pretrial detention and the decision to impose bail in Southern California. Western Criminology Review, 19(2), 24–43. Retrieved from https://scholasticahq.com/criminology-criminal-justice-law-society/Google Scholar
• Ouss, A., & Stevenson, M. (2019). Evaluating the impacts of eliminating prosecutorial requests for cash bail. George Mason Legal Studies Research Paper, Legal Studies #19–08, 1–35. Retrieved from https://www.law.gmu.edu/pubs/papers/ls1908
• Pelvin, H. (2017). Doing uncertain time: Understanding the experiences of punishment in pre-trial custody [Doctoral thesis, University of Toronto]. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1807/80896
• Peters, G., & Woolley, J. T. (n.d.-a). Lyndon B. Johnson, remarks at the signing of the Bail Reform Act of 1966. The American Presidency Project. Retrieved from https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/238665
• Peters, G., & Woolley, J. T. (n.d.-b). Radio address to the nation on crime and criminal justice reform. The American Presidency Project. Retrieved from https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/radio-address-the-nation-crime-and-criminal-justice-reform
• Petersen, N. (2020). Do detainees plead guilty faster? A survival analysis of pretrial detention and the timing of guilty pleas. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 31(7), 1015–1035. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403419838020ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Phillips, M. T. (2004, July). Factors influencing release and bail decisions in New York City, part 3: Cross-borough analysis. New York City Criminal Justice Agency. Retrieved from https://www.nycja.org/publications/factors-influencing-release-and-bail-decisions-in-new-york-city-part-3-cross-borough-analysis
• Phillips, M. T. (2007). Pretrial detention and case outcomes, part 1: Nonfelony cases. New York City Criminal Justice Agency. Retrieved from https://www.nycja.org/publications/pretrial-detention-and-case-outcomes-part-1-nonfelony-casesGoogle Scholar
• Phillips, M. T. (2008). Pretrial detention and case outcomes, part 2: Felony cases. New York City Criminal Justice Agency. Retrieved from https://www.nycja.org/publications/pretrial-detention-and-case-outcomes-part-2-felony-cases
• Phillips, M. T. (2012, August). A decade of bail research in New York City. New York City Criminal Justice Agency,. Retrieved from http://unlockjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CJA-A-Decade-of-Bail-Research-2012.pdf
• Phillips, S. P. (2017, April). National survey of community bail funds: Report to the community. Smart Decision Initiative, Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a973b49ee1759a6e039e0f4/t/5c0666d1575d1fefff9645f2/1543923411576/national+survey.071417.pdf
• Pinchevsky, G. M., & Steiner, B. (2016). Sex-based disparities in pretrial release decisions and outcomes. Crime & Delinquency, 62(3), 308–340. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128713482415ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Pretrial Justice Institute. (2010). Pretrial justice in America: A survey of county pretrial release policies, practices and outcomes. Author. Retrieved from https://university.pretrial.org/viewdocument/pretrial-justice-in-1Google Scholar
• Pretrial Justice Institute. (2019). Scan of pretrial practices 2019. Author. Retrieved from https://university.pretrial.org/viewdocument/scan-of-pretrial-practices-pji-20Google Scholar
• Pretrial Justice Institute. (2020). The case against pretrial risk assessment instruments. Author. Retrieved from https://university.pretrial.org/viewdocument/the-case-against-pretrial-risk-asseGoogle Scholar
• Rabinowitz, M. (2010). Holding cells: Understanding the collateral consequences of pretrial detentions (Publication No. 3433615) [Doctoral dissertation, Northwestern University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Google Scholar
• Rabuy, B., & Kopf, D. (2016, May). Detaining the poor. Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/incomejails.html
• Reaves, B. A. (2013, December). Felony defendants in large urban counties, 2009-statistical tables. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fdluc09.pdf
• Redcross, C., Henderson, B., Valentine, E., & Miratrix, L. (2019, March). Evaluation of pretrial justice system reforms that use the public safety assessment: Effects in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. MDRC Center for Criminal Justice Research. Retrieved from https://www.mdrc.org/publication/evaluation-pretrial-justice-system-reforms-use-public-safety-assessment
• Richardson, L. S., & Goff, P. A. (2013). Implicit racial bias in public defender triage. The Yale Law Journal, 122(8), 2626–2649. Retrieved from https://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/1199_pzeey4t1.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Robinson, D. G., & Koepke, L. (2019, December). Civil rights and pretrial risk assessment instruments. Safety and Justice Challenge. Retrieved from http://www.safetyandjusticechallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Robinson-Koepke-Civil-Rights-Critical-Issue-Brief.pdf
• Rosenbaum, D. I., Hutsell, N., Tomkins, A. J., Bornstein, B. H., Herian, M. H., & Neeley, E. M. (2012). Court date reminder postcards. Judicature; Chicago, 95(4), 177–187. Retrieved from http://ppc.unl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/JUDICATURE-article-Rosenbaum.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Sacks, M., Sainato, V. A., & Ackerman, A. R. (2015). Sentenced to pretrial detention: A study of bail decisions and outcomes. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(3), 661–681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9268-0ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Sainju, K. D., Fahy, S., Baggaley, K., Baker, A., Minassian, T., & Filippelli, V. (2018). Electronic monitoring for pretrial release: Assessing the impact. Federal Probation, 82(3), 3–10. Retrieved from https://www.uscourts.gov/federal-probation-journal/2018/12/electronic-monitoring-pretrial-release-assessing-impactGoogle Scholar
• Sawyer, W., & Wagner, P. (2020, March 24). Mass incarceration: The whole pie 2020. Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2020.html
• Schaefer, B. P., & Hughes, T. (2019). Examining judicial pretrial release decisions: The influence of risk assessments and race. Criminology, Criminal Justice Law and Society, 20(2), 47–48. Retrieved from https://ccjls.scholasticahq.com/article/9908-examining-judicial-pretrial-release-decisions-the-influence-of-risk-assessments-and-raceGoogle Scholar
• Schlesinger, T. (2005). Racial and ethnic disparity in pretrial criminal processing. Justice Quarterly, 22(2), 170–192. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820500088929ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Schnacke, T. R. (2014). Fundamentals of bail: A resource guide for pretrial practitioners and a framework for American pretrial reform. National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Retrieved from https://nicic.gov/fundamentals-bail-resource-guide-pretrial-practitioners-and-framework-american-pretrial-reform
• Schnacke, T. R. (2018). A brief history of bail. The Judges’ Journal, 57(3), 4–36. Retrieved from http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/sites/PJRSummit/materials/bailHistory.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Schnacke, T. R., Jones, M. R., & Brooker, C. M. (2010, September 23). The history of bail and pretrial release. Pretrial Justice Institute. Retrieved from https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ccjj/Committees/BailSub/Handouts/HistoryofBail-Pre-TrialRelease-PJI_2010.pdf
• Schnacke, T. R., Jones, M. R., & Wilderman, D. M. (2012). Increasing court-appearance rates and other benefits of live-caller telephone court-date reminders: The Jefferson County, Colorado, FTA pilot project and resulting court date notification program. Court Review: The Journal of the American Judges Association, 48(3), 86–95. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ajacourtreview/393Google Scholar
• Schneider, R. D. (2010). Mental health courts and diversion programs: A global survey. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 33(4), 201–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2010.07.001ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Schuppe, J. (2020, October 17). California may replace cash bail with algorithms – but some worry that will be less fair. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-may-replace-cash-bail-algorithms-some-worry-will-be-n1243750
• Scurich, N., & John, R. S. (2011). The effect of framing actuarial risk probabilities on voluntary civil commitment decisions. Law and Human Behavior, 35(2), 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-010-9218-4ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Smith, R. (2018). Condemned to repeat history? Why the last movement for bail reform failed, and how this one can succeed. Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, 25(3), 451–473. Retrieved from https://www.law.georgetown.edu/poverty-journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2019/02/25-3-Condemned-to-Repeat-History.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Steffensmeier, D., Ulmer, J., & Kramer, J. (1998). The interaction of race, gender, and age in criminal sentencing: The punishment cost of being young, black, and male. Criminology, 36(4), 763–798. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01265.xArticleGoogle Scholar
• Steffensmeier, D. J. (1980). Assessing the impact of the women’s movement on sex-based differences in the handling of adult criminal defendants. Crime & Delinquency, 26(3), 344–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/001112878002600305ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Stevenson, M., & Mayson, S. G. (2017). Bail reform: New directions for pretrial detention and release. Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law, 1745, 1–21. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/1745
• Stevenson, M. T. (2018). Distortion of justice: How the inability to pay bail affects case outcomes. The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 34(4), 511–542. https://doi.org/10.1093/jleo/ewy019ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Subramanian, R., Delaney, R., Roberts, S., Fishman, N., & McGarry, P. (2015, February). Incarceration’s front door: The misuse of jails in America. Vera Institute of Justice. Retrieved from http://www.safetyandjusticechallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/incarcerations-front-door-report.pdf
• Tartaro, C., & Sedelmaier, C. M. (2009). A tale of two counties: The impact of pretrial release, race, and ethnicity upon sentencing decisions. Criminal Justice Studies, 22(2), 203–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786010902975507ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Toborg, M. A., Bellasai, J. P., Yezer, A. M., & Trost, R. P. (1989, December). Assessment of pretrial urine testing in the District of Columbia (NCJRS 119968). US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/119968NCJRS.pdf
• Tomkins, A., Bornstein, B. H., Herian, M. N., Rosenbaum, D. I., & Neeley, E. (2012). An experiment in the law: Studying a technique to reduce failure to appear in court. Court Review, 48(3), 96–106. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ajacourtreview/395/Google Scholar
• Townes, C. (2017, October 13). A county in North Carolina wants to give its bail system a serious makeover. The Appeal. Retrieved from https://theappeal.org/a-county-in-north-carolina-wants-to-give-its-bail-system-a-serious-makeover/
• Travis, J. (2018, May 11). Cash bail system makes poverty a crime. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2018/05/11/poverty-bail-risk-jail-policing-usa/555928002/
• Trotter, R. T., II, Camplain, R., Eaves, E. R., Fofanov, V. Y., Dmitrieva, N. O., Hepp, C. M., Warren, M., Barrios, B. A., Pagel, N., Mayer, A., & Baldwin, J. A. (2018). Health disparities and converging epidemics in jail populations: Protocol for a mixed-methods study. JMIR Research Protocols, 7(10), e10337. https://doi.org/10.2196/10337ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Turner, F. D. (2015). Reducing failure to appears through community outreach. National Center for State Courts. Retrieved from https://www.ncsc.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/51719/Court-Outreach-to-Minority-Communities-Rottman.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Turner, K. B., & Johnson, J. B. (2006). The effects of gender on the judicial decision of bail amount set. Federal Probation, 70(1), 56–72. Retrieved from https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/70_1_8_0.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124ArticleGoogle Scholar
• United States Department of Justice. (2015, August 18). Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the National Symposium on Pretrial Justice. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-eric-holder-speaks-national-symposium-pretrial-justice
• VanNostrand, M. (2003). Assessing risk among pretrial defendants in Virginia: The Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment instrument. Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Google Scholar
• VanNostrand, M., & Keebler, G. (2007). Our journey toward pretrial justice. Federal Probation, 71(2), 20–25. Retrieved from https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/fed_probation_sept_2007.pdfGoogle Scholar
• VanNostrand, M., & Keebler, G. (2009). Pretrial risk assessment in the federal court. Federal Probation, 73(2), 3–29. Retrieved from https://www.uscourts.gov/federal-probation-journal/2009/09/pretrial-risk-assessment-federal-courtGoogle Scholar
• VanNostrand, M., & Lowenkamp, C. T. (2013). Assessing pretrial risk without a defendant interview. Arnold Foundation. Retrieved from https://craftmediabucket.s3amazonaws.com/uploads/PDFs/LJAF_Report_no-interview_FNL.pdfGoogle Scholar
• Viljoen, J. L., Jonnson, M. R., Cochrane, D. M., Vargen, L. M., & Vincent, G. M. (2019). Impact of risk assessment instruments on rates of pretrial detention, postconviction placements, and release: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Law and Human Behavior, 43(5), 397–420. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000344ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Vincent, G. M., & Viljoen, J. L. (2020). Racist algorithms or systemic problems? Risk assessments and racial disparities. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(12), 1576–1584. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854820954501ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Virani, A., Padilla-Hernandez, R., Gires, T., Fryzek, K., Pendleton, R., Van Buren, E., & Langer, M. (2020). Creating a need-based pre-trial release system: The false dichotomy of money bail versus risk assessment tools. UCLA School of Law, Criminal Justice Program. Retrieved from https://law.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/Academics/CJP%20Pretrial%20Proposal%20-%202020.pdf
• Wagner, P., & Rabuy, B. (2017, January 25). Following the money of mass incarceration. Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/money.html
• Williams, M. R. (2003). The effect of pretrial detention on imprisonment decisions. Criminal Justice Review, 28(2), 299–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/073401680302800206ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Williams, M. R. (2017). The effect of attorney type on bail decisions. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 28(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403414562603ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Woods, A., & Allen-Kyle, P. (2019, March). A new vision for pretrial justice in the United States. ACLU Smart Justice. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/report/new-vision-pretrial-justice-united-states
• Wooldredge, J. (2012). Distinguishing race effects on pre-trial release and sentencing decisions. Justice Quarterly, 29(1), 41–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2011.559480ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Wooldredge, J., Frank, J., & Goulette, N. (2017). Ecological contributors to disparities in bond amounts and pretrial detention. Crime & Delinquency, 63(13), 1682–1711. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128716659636ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Wooldredge, J., Frank, J., Goulette, N., & Travis, L. (2015). Is the impact of cumulative disadvantage on sentencing greater for black defendants? Criminology & Public Policy, 14(2), 187–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12124ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Worden, A. P., Morgan, K. A., Shteynberg, R. V., & Davies, A. L. B. (2018). What difference does a lawyer make? Impacts of early counsel on misdemeanor bail decisions and outcomes in rural small town courts. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 29(6–7), 710–735. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403417726133ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Wu, J. (2016). Racial/ethnic discrimination and prosecution: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(4), 437–458. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815628026ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Wykstra, S. (2018, October 17). Bail reform, which could save millions of unconvicted people from jail, explained. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/10/17/17955306/bail-reform-criminal-justice-inequality
• Zeng, J., Ustun, B., & Rudin, C. (2017). Interpretable classification models for recidivism prediction. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, 180(3), 689–722. https://doi.org/10.1111/rssa.12227ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Zeng, Z. (2020). Jail inmates in 2018. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ji17.pdf
• Zottola, S. A. (2020). Efforts to improve evidence-based practices from jail booking to first appearance in court (publication no. 28075143) [Doctoral dissertation, North Carolina State University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. Google Scholar

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Research Associates, Inc., Delmar, NY, USA Samantha A. Zottola & Sarah L. Desmarais
2. RTI International, Durham, NC, USA Sarah E. Duhart Clarke

1. Samantha A. Zottola