Defendants are regularly condemned to years, decades, or life in prison for minor infractions because of minimum sentencing statutes. If judges had more discretion in sentencing, then sentences could be more proportional to the crime, more specific to the individual defendant, and minimize the negative impact of minimum sentencing laws without inherently needing those laws repealed.
“But new data released by the Cook County Circuit Court in May and analyzed by The Appeal suggests the PSA may be overstating the risk defendants actually pose if released. Between October 2017 and December 2018, 99 percent of people flagged as high risk for violence who were released before trial were not charged with any new violent crimes during the release, a percentage virtually identical to the one for those deemed low to moderate risk.“
The Appeal
August 8, 2019
Read More“Judges are entrusted to provide equal justice and protect the rights of all people. In criminal prosecutions, where the stakes are highest, that includes upholding due process and giving full meaning to the presumption of innocence. Under SB 10, it is judges who now, more than ever, must ensure that California’s pretrial justice system lives up to these ideals.“
Sacramento Bee
September 25, 2018
Read More"In 2016, Pima County, Arizona—which includes the city of Tucson—started holding evening and weekend court sessions for folks who haven’t committed a severe crime but who have outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court. "
Vera Institute
August 31, 2018
Read More"What Quinn is asking for is very much like the worst case scenario under the new California bail statute in a lot of ways."
Boston Globe
August 30, 2018
Read More"Perhaps it should not be surprising that the Judicial Council, which initially was a major opponent of bail reform, now supports the new bill, since it gives unprecedented power to judges. Rather than relying on a risk assessment tool, judges would have the power to detain people based on their subjective determination."
The Sacramento Bee
August 13, 2018
Read More"Since the Bronx Defenders sued in May 2016 over the court’s alleged violation of defendants’ constitutional right to a speedy trial, the number of misdemeanor cases pending for more than a year has dropped from 2,378 to 513. The number of misdemeanor cases pending for more than two years has dropped from 538 to 64."
New York Daily News
August 9, 2018
Read More"It’s a question of practicality. Whether the person is innocent or not, jury trials are always a crap shoot, with the verdict uncertain until rendered. If you’re offered probation pre-trial by pleading guilty but know a judge will give you jail if you lose trial, you might choose to say you did something that you didn’t do just to avoid jail. It would take the most stalwart belief in justice (and your attorney) to go forward when a guilty verdict has you serving a much tougher sentence."
Above the Law
July 23, 2018
Read More"Farid and Dressler found that giving untrained experts access to seven details about an individual produced a 67 percent accuracy rate. COMPAS, which uses 137 data points, has a 65 percent accuracy rate."
Criminal Legal News
July 20, 2018
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