This is a Categorical Assistance Progress Report regarding the joining of the Community Court of Baltimore with an Early Decision Court.
The grant for this project expired on March 31, 2001. A request for an extension was denied. This report contains the extension request, the history of the project, and serves as a final report. Early Decision (ED) Court was not originally intended as a substitute for Community Court. It was instead intended as a relief mechanism for overcrowded District Court dockets. Early Decision Court was to start at the booking phase, when defendants were identified as eligible for ED Court based on the charge, prior arrest record, and the absence of present probation or parole status. The report contains a list of the charges eligible for referral to ED Court; and a plan for Community Court and Early Disposition docket merger, including confidentiality, space needs, and ongoing requests for additional resources. It also includes a paper discussing the differences between Community Court and ED Court and the results of their merger. The report suggests that the merged Court would be fully functional by October 2001.