as Part of the Risk Assessment Panorama

Researchers have expressed enthusiasm for the study of the “biology” of crime and the related development of “neuroprediction,” one aspect of which is the attempt to use brain imaging techniques to corroborate a risk of violence assessment. While lawyers are not yet likely to encounter neuroscience evidence when they litigate the admissibility of a prediction of future violence, they should track developments in this area.

The Bail Reform Act was supposed to authorize detention for a narrow set of people: those who are highly dangerous or pose a high risk of absconding. But in many cases, judges and prosecutors are jailing people for reasons not allowed by the statutory rules. It is time to bring federal pretrial detention practices back in line with the law.

Find training materials and resources to assist attorneys in providing high quality representation as part of the Texas Counsel At First Appearance (CAFA) Project.

Presented by Isaac Bryan, Master of Public Policy candidate, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Race Matters II: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice
January 10-11, 2019 | Los Angeles, CA

On April 6 and 7, 2017, NACDL, the Foundation for Criminal Justice, the Monroe Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Center for Court Innovation, and the State of New York Unified Court System convened a conference designed to explore the impediments to and reforms needed to ensure effective justice in all stages of the criminal process, with a particular focus on the judicial role in high-volume misdemeanor courts. [Released December 2017]

Coalition letter to Governor Greg Abbott, of Texas, regarding his executive order (GA-13) refusing to allow release of inmates from state detention facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presented by: Daniel Zettler, public defender, Salida, CO; Elsa Archambault, public defender, Centennial, CO; Justin Bogan, public defender, Durango, CO; and Sheryl Uhlmann, public defender, Steamboat Springs, CO

Presented by: Chris Bowman, public defender, Grand Junction, CO; and Steven Colvin, public defender, Denver, CO

Risk assessment – the assessment of risk of reoffending or risk of future violent behavior – is a hot topic. However, only rarely do lawyers address the questions raised by criminal justice-related risk assessment. This finding suggests that defense lawyers may not be paying enough attention to the issue. A key issue involves addressing how the risk assessment connects the dots between a specific client’s circumstances and the factors related to reoffending and violence.

Over 75% of those detained in local jails have not been convicted of a crime, and those in pretrial detention face the loss of employment and housing; suffer disruptions in education, medical treatment, and medications; and experience serious damage to their family and community relationships.

Financial bond should be used as a last resort. In most cases, pretrial supervision and less onerous conditions can serve to ensure the accused’s appearance and public’s safety without the discriminatory and disparate impact of financial bond. Learn more for your bail & bond case-related issues here.

Pretrial risk assessment tools have emerged as the favored reform in the movement to lower pretrial jailing and limit the abuses of money bail. Critics have voiced concern, however, over the threat that risk assessments perpetuate racial bias inherent in the criminal justice system. When a risk assessment tool recommends that a client be detained or released with conditions — particularly a client of color — lawyers must be prepared to point out the tool’s limitations and biases.

September 21 saw the release of Colorado Bail Book: A Defense Attorney’s Guide to Adult Pretrial Release.

E.G. Morris discusses the current state of the bail system. He believes that pretrial release conditions requiring financial conditions must be used as a last resort. An accused should be released on personal recognizance unless an evidence-based determination is made that the individual presents a flight risk or imminent physical harm to others.

Bail Pending Appeal : The Bail Reform Act Barry Tarlow

NACDL Director of Legislative Affairs Leslie Hagin's written statement to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution regarding the actions of bail bond companies and bounty hunters expected to change with the Citizen Protection Act of 1998 (H.R. 3168) in order to protect individuals' civil rights and civil liberties.