NCJ Number
59736
Date Published
1979
Length
133 pages
Annotation
RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF A NEW ZEALAND MAGISTRATE'S COURT DESCRIBE THE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS APPLIED IN DETERMING WHETHER TO REMAND A PERSON IN CUSTODY OR TO RELEASE HIM ON BAIL.
Abstract
TO PRODUCE EMPIRICAL DATA ON THE APPLICATION OF THE REMAND PROCESS IN NEW ZEALAND, A SAMPLE OF 412 PEOPLE BROUGHT BEFORE THE MAGISTRATE'S COURT IN 1974 WAS SELECTED AND OBSERVED. DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM THE DIRECT OBSERVATION OF COURT HEARINGS AND FROM OFFICIAL COURT RECORDS. THE DEFENDANTS WERE FOLLOWED FROM THEIR FIRST APPEARANCE IN COURT THROUGH TO THEIR EXIT FROM THE COURT'S JURISDICTION. FOLLOWUP PROCEDURES WERE COMPLETED BY AUGUST 1975. ALTHOUGH THE CUSTODY RATE IN THE SURVEY WAS MODEST, 11 PERCENT OF THE DEFENDANTS WERE STILL REFUSED BAIL AND WERE REMANDED IN CUSTODY. REMAND DECISIONS ARE STRONGLY RELATED TO THE POLICE OPPOSITION TO BAIL, THE STATUS OF THE DEFENDANTS WHEN THEY APPEAR IN COURT, AND THE AVAILABILITY OF LEGAL AID AND DUTY SOLICITORS. REPRESENTATION SEEMS TO BE AN ADVANTAGE FOR DEFENDANTS IN REDUCING POLICE OPPOSITION TO BAIL, BUT THE ORGANIZATIONAL POWER OF THE POLICE IS NOT FULLY COUNTERBALANCED BY THE PRESENCE OF LEGAL COUNSEL. THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE CHARGE AND WHETHER THE DEFENDANT IS CONVICTED ARE SECONDARY FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE COURT, BUT THEY DO NOT CONSTITUTE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE IN THEMSELVES. HOWEVER, THE SURVEY SHOWS THAT RELEVANT SOCIAL INFORMATION WAS SELDOM GIVEN TO THE COURT, PARTICULARLY IN PRETRIAL COURT APPEARANCES, YET THIS INFORMATION IS NECESSARY FOR A PROPER ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S BAIL RISK. INFORMATION WHICH WAS PROVIDED USUALLY CAME FROM THE POLICE AND CONCERNED ONLY THE DEFENDANTS' CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORDS. A PERSON CLASSIFIED AS 'BAILABLE AS OF RIGHT' MAY IN FACT BE REMANDED IN CUSTODY AS A RESULT OF OVERSIGHT OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE A SURETY. CONSCIOUS EFFORTS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED WHICH ENSURE THAT A PERSON ENTITLED TO BAIL DOES NOT RECEIVE A CUSTODIAL REMAND BY DEFAULT. APPENDED MATERIAL INCLUDES DISCUSSION OF OFFENSE GROUPS, LOG-LINEAR MODELS FOR MULTIWAY CONTINGENCY TABLES, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SURVEY SAMPLE. TABULAR DATA AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)