Evidence-Based Practices and Criminal Defense: Opportunities, Challenges, and Practical Considerations

• NCJ Number: 226731
• Author(s): Kimberly A. Weibrecht Esq.
• Date Published: August 2008
• Length: 51 pages
• Grant Number(s): 05C45GJI3
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Corrections; Crime and Justice Institute
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Crime and Justice Institute
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Policy/Procedure Handbook/Manual
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded April 4, 2009

Annotation

This paper provides guidance to criminal defense attorneys on how they can use findings of evidence-based practices (EBP) (a body of research on defendant behavior and the effectiveness of correctional and criminal justice practices) in order to improve advocacy for their clients in terms of effective correctional case management based on a client's objective risk and needs assessment.

Abstract

The two evidence-based practices that bring the greatest opportunities and challenges for defense attorneys as advocates are targeted interventions and treatment in the criminal justice system. The principle of targeted interventions benefits defendants by focusing correctional responses on defendants based on their risk and need level. It uses correctional resources in the least restrictive manner possible in order to achieve public safety and defendant rehabilitation. It results in correctional interventions that are more effective at changing defendant behavior and improving defendants' lives. Some concerns of defense counsel in this area should include whether the risk and need assessment is being used by properly trained assessors, whether it is properly normed and validated, whether it is actuarial, and whether the appropriate type of assessment is being used at the appropriate point in case processing. The development of treatment interventions also benefits defendants by providing treatment opportunities that may not have otherwise been available. Some of the challenges that treatment brings to defense counsel include ensuring that "net-widening" (the provision of unwarranted and overly intrusive, nontraditional interventions) does not occur and that the consequences of treatment failure while under the court's jurisdiction are not unreasonable. EPB initiatives also provide defense counsel opportunities to advocate for defendants in policymaking arenas that relate to the validity of risk and need assessment, encouraging the use of outcome measures and feedback in correctional programs, and by educating stakeholders on the role and "core duties" of defense counsel. 57 footnotes