Development of Bail/Pretrial Release Guidelines in Maricopa County Superior Court, Dade County Circuit Court and Boston Municipal Court

• NCJ Number: 124016
• Author(s): J S Goldkamp; M R Gottfredson
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 213 pages
• Grant Number(s): 84-IJ-CX-0056
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Volume I

Annotation

This study analyzes the development and effectiveness of bail and pretrial detention guidelines.

Abstract

The researchers developed and implemented guidelines in three major urban courts. Evaluation of the guidelines' effectiveness was performed in order to compare the results with that of previous research. Previous research suggested that a lack of guidelines was a significant factor in bail decision disparity. The study provides a literature review of bail guidelines studies, followed by a description of the research sites in Boston and Dade and Maricopa counties. Descriptions of sampling, data, research methods, and results are provided. The use of guidelines in bail/pretrial detention in each area is analyzed based on various factors including visibility, equity, rationality, and effectiveness. Finally, models for guideline construction are provided that emphasize risk and seriousness classifications of offenders as primary determining factors for bail/pretrial detention decisions. 4 appendixes, 24 tables, 56 figures, 41 references.