Pretrial Bond, Bail, and Diversion/Sentencing and Community Corrections

Question 1

What is the most important decision in the process of defendants in Pretrial Services?

Answer 1

Whether to release a person from jail prior to adjudication.

Question 2

What two key functions are there for Pretrial services?

Answer 2

1. Assess the defendant
2. Supervision for those granted pretrial release

Question 3

Pretrial Services History

Answer 3

-1,500 years ago
-Early form of money bail: Sum of money provided to ensure return to court

Question 4

Today’s money bail can also be provided by commercial bonds, what is it?

Answer 4

Commercial bonding agents- private/for-profit agencies that post the full amount of a bond for a fee from the defendant
The agent ensures defendant return to court
Defendant provides collateral

Question 5

What are the concerns with Money Bail

Answer 5

Pay to play system
Individuals of low socioeconomic status are not able to post bond
Individuals of high socioeconomic status have more to leverage with bond agencies

Question 6

What was The Manhattan Bail Project from Vera Institute?

Answer 6

Explored the opportunity for defendants to be released on their own recognizance—a promise to return to court.
Implemented an objective measure of risk (a pretrial assessment) to support the recommendation of whether to release
Findings- significantly quicker process (arrests to final disposition) and fewer individuals were sentenced to prison
Led to the Bail Reform Act

Question 7

The Bail Reform Act-Risk Focused

Answer 7

Established presumptive releases for all non-capital federal cases who would likely appear in court
Switch in concern from defendant returning to court to protecting the community because of the ”tough on crime” era in the 1970s

Question 8

How did Preventative Detention Result in jail population spikes

Answer 8

Preventative detention- allows for a judge to refuse to release a defendant on pretrial release due to the potential harm to the community
Community safety > individual freedom—at least in some cases

Question 9

What happened because of the Bail Reform Act?

Answer 9

Local jails paid the price for pretrial confinement
Significant increase in physical structures being built
Alternatives to jail include:
Pretrial release
Electronic monitoring
Work release

Question 10

What are the four stages of the Pretrial Process

Answer 10

1. Arrest
2. Jail Booking
3. Assessment
4. Supervision

Question 11

Arrest and Jail Booking

Answer 11

-Beginning of the pretrial process
-Law enforcement determines if a person is suspected of committing a crime
-After law enforcement is engaged, the District Attorney’s office determines if there is probable cause and discusses charges
-Arrest suspect on suspicion of crime -> book them into jail -> probable cause hearing for filing charges

Question 12

Assessment

Answer 12

-Range of pretrial assessments from judicial to actuarial tools
-Pretrial assessments are used to predict the likelihood of failing to return to court and/or committing a new law violation while on pretrial status

Question 13

What is Actuarial Assessment

Answer 13

-an objective way of measuring risk for an event to occur
Built using statistical modeling, designed to measure the characteristics of a person and determine the likelihood that the person will engage in a specific event
Uses prior history, characteristics of the current offense, and some crime-related variables

Question 14

What 7 Assessment factors are there?

Answer 14

1. Criminal History
2. Current offense
3. History of appearance in court
4. Employment
5. Stability
6. Housing
7. Substance use

Question 15

What are the limitations of Risk Assessment

Answer 15

-The quality and availability of data
-The inability to have random assignment
-Result is a relatively short follow-up period and low base rates of failure
-Defendant has the right to be silent and limits information
-Timing limits the amount of verification of info gathered
-two outcomes = different indicators
likelihood of failure to appear and the possibility of new criminal activity

Question 16

Pretrial Supervision

Answer 16

-If a defendant gets released prior to his or her trial, they are often supervised by a pretrial officer, a bondsman, or sometimes both
-Standard condition of defendants:
Commit no crimes or have no contact with the police for a new criminal offense
Maintain their current residence or provide updates to the court if their address changes
Avoid contact with the victim or witnesses.

Question 17

What are some things that Pretrial Supervision includes

Answer 17

Substance abuse treatment
Drug testing
Obtaining or maintaining employment
Attending supervision meetings
Electronic monitoring
House arrest

Question 18

What are Pretrial Diversion Programs?

Answer 18

-Considered an alternative to sentence or conviction, pretrial diversion programs offer defendants an opportunity to get treatment while avoiding a conviction
Offer intervention in lieu of conviction
If completed, the charges are usually dropped or at least reduced
Targets lower-level offenses, first-time offenders, and specialized populations

Question 19

What are the 3 Stages of Pretrial Diversion Programs

Answer 19

1. Pre-arrest Diversion Programs
   -Offered by a Law Enforcement
2. Post-arrest diversion programs
   -Offered by the District Attorney’s office
3. Post-conviction diversion programs
   -specialty court

Question 20

Sentencing

Answer 20

-Are those that have not yet been diverted through the correctional filter
-They have been found guilty (or have pled guilty) to a crime
-The judge must now decide how to dispose of their cases

Question 21

What is Plea Bargaining

Answer 21

-The exchange of prosecutorial and/or judicial concessions in return for a plea of guilty. Most (95%) people plead guilty for the following considerations:
Lesser charge
Dismissal of other charges
Reduced sentence

Question 22

What are the four Purposes of Criminal Sanctions

Answer 22

1. Deterrence
   -General and Specific Deterrence
2. Incapacitation
   -If we lock up all the criminals, we will reduce crime since they will not be free to steal, sell drugs, or hurt others
3. Restoration
   -Making the community “whole” through community service, restitution, mediation
4. Rehabilitation
   -Focuses on changing the behavior of the offender through treatment and services

Question 23

Define Tourniquet Sentencing

Answer 23

-Tightening or increasing the conditions of probation to encourage the client to conform to legal and supervisory expectations
Based on the client’s need

Question 24

Define Concurrent sentencing

Answer 24

-The offender serves time for all his or her crimes beginning on the day of arrival in prison

Question 25

Define Consecutive sentencing

Answer 25

-The offender serves the minimum sentence for the first crime before beginning to serve time for the second offense

Question 26

What two histories are there for Indeterminate Sentencing

Answer 26

1. Early attempt by Captain Alexander Maconochie (the 1840s)
2. The Irish System- Sir Walter Crofton’s 3 stage system
   Whats now called parole

Question 27

What two histories are there for Indeterminate Sentencing

Answer 27

1. Early attempt by Captain Alexander Maconochie (the 1840s)
2. The Irish System- Sir Walter Crofton’s 3 stage system
   What’s now called parole

Question 28

Define Indeterminate Sentencing

Answer 28

1. The sentencing judge pronounces a minimum and maximum period of incarceration
   -The highest-risk offenders should receive longer prison sentences in order to prevent any more criminal behavior
   -The dominant sentencing structure until the mid-1970s
   -Started in the 19th century, the beginning of the Progressive Era

Question 29

Sentencing Changes

Answer 29

1. By 1930- most states and federal courts were operating under the indeterminate sentencing structure.
   -Once the offender had been rehabilitated, the parole board would detect the change and then order parole release
2. Move to a punitive approach and sentencing reform in the 1970s
   -New Goals of incapacitation

Question 30

Define Selective Incapacitation

Answer 30

• the highest-risk most serious offenders would receive much longer sentences in order to prevent any more criminal activity
  The goal of deterrence and retribution
  Three-strikes policy- mandating long-term incarceration (at least 25 years) for those persons convicted of a serious or violent third felony

Question 31

Sentencing Reform the Punitive Approach and define Determinate sentencing

Answer 31

1. The move to a punitive approach led to the abolishment of discretionary parole release in 18 states
2. a fixed period of incarceration imposed on the offender by the sentencing court

Question 32

Define (1)Discretionary and (2.) Mandatory release

Answer 32

1. the parole board opted to release an offender before the maximum sentence was met
2. the offender had to be released because the maximum sentence (or its equivalent) had been attained

Question 33

Why Sentencing Guidelines

Answer 33

-Work by providing decision-makers with criteria and weights on which the sanction decision should be based
-Explicitly stating factors deemed relevant to the sentence decision and providing guidance to the judge/sentencing authority
Ensures a greater degree of uniformity in criminal penalties
-Works to limit the effect of extralegal factors on the sentencing decision

Question 34

What are the 3 Reform Sentencing Types

Answer 34

1. Presumptive Sentencing
2. Mandatory Minimum sentencing
3. Split sentencing

Question 35

Presumptive Sentencing

Answer 35

judges can select a term based on the characteristics of the offender as well as mitigating or aggravating factors related to the case

Question 36

Mandatory Minimum sentencing

Answer 36

a person convicted of a crime must be imprisoned for a minimum term, as opposed to leaving the length of the punishment up to a judge

Question 37

Split sentencing

Answer 37

a short term of incarceration in the local jail to be followed by a term of probation