The Effects of Legal and Extralegal Factors on Detention Decisions in US District Courts

The Bail Reform Act of 1984 changed the law dictating release and detention decisions in federal court. Since its passage, few studies have examined judicial decision-making in this context. Legal research enables us to account for the structure and interpretation of federal detention laws and to analyze previously neglected measures of legal factors in our analyses. We use US Sentencing Commission data on a sample of defendants who were sentenced in 2007 (N?=?31,043). We find that legal factors—particularly length of criminal history, having committed a violent or otherwise serious offense, and having committed the offense while under supervision of the criminal justice system—have the strongest relationships with the presentence detention outcome. A defendant’s age, race, and ethnicity have weaker relationships with detention. When we compare defendants who are similarly situated with respect to legal factors, the probability of detention is similar regardless of age, race, and ethnicity.     

Significant Gender Differences in Factors Related to the Detention of Youthful Offenders

An important priority of the U.S. juvenile justice system is to reduce the number of youthful offenders who are placed into secure detention placement. Though significant research examining these predictors exists, there is limited analysis of gender-specific predictors. Using existing juvenile court and mental health assessment case records of 433 youthful offenders from two Midwestern U.S. counties, this study sought to identify separately for males and females the legal (including number of delinquency adjudications, age at first delinquency adjudication, number of court offenses, and type of offense) and extralegal (including demographic, maltreatment, mental health, and school-related disabilities) factors that impact recidivism to detention placement. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the predictors of recidivism leading to repeat secure detention placement were indeed different for males and females, although there were some shared predictors. For both genders, the number of court offenses and having a previous suicide attempt were significant predictors. In addition, for females, having a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and a misdemeanor offense were protective against recidivism. For males, three other variables significantly predicted recidivism: age, race, and a conduct disorder diagnosis.     

论司法拘留与民事拘留

科学客观地确立司法拘留与民事拘留的关系,不仅是拘留理论深入研究的需要,也是拘留立法和拘留实践发展的需要,本文在考察对该关系的众多观点的基础上,认为当今的司法拘留与民事拘留是一种广义交叉关系和狭义全异关系,主张这两种关系中的“民事拘留”名称应被具有个别性的具体名称所取代。     

Juvenile Court Context and Detention Decisions: Reconsidering the Role of Race,Ethnicity, and Community Characteristics in Juvenile Court Processes

The relationship between race/ethnicity, community dynamics, and juvenile court processes has long been established. Prior research has relied on city‐ or county‐level measures of community characteristics (e.g., racial composition, poverty) to examine how racial groups are processed within juvenile courts. To date, no study has utilized finer scale measures of geographic areas to examine how characteristics of juveniles’ communities impact court decisions. By utilizing official juvenile court data from a city in the southwest, this study draws upon attribution theory to examine how economic and crime community‐level measures directly and indirectly influence detention outcomes. Findings reveal that the effect of race and ethnicity in detention outcomes varies across communities, and the effect of ethnicity in detention decisions is mediated by economic community‐level measures. The theoretical and policy implications of the study findings are discussed.     

Race as a Factor in the Judicial Decision of Bail Amount in a Midwestern Jurisdiction

Abstract

Data collected on all felony defendants during 1996 from a district court in a Midwestern county were examined for racial differences in the setting of bail. While we hypothesized that African Americans would receive higher bail amounts than whites, we found no independent effect of race on bail amounts either before or after applying controls for legal variables-seriousness of offense and prior arrests-and extralegal variables-sex, age, residency, and type of attorney. Thus, we were compelled to reject our hypothesis. Seriousness of offense and the interaction between offense seriousness and race were statistically significant in the regressions.     

审前羁押程序比较

审前羁押会使犯罪嫌疑人、被告人的人身自由受到较为严重的侵害。西方各法治国家都采取了相应的法律控制手段。本文通过立法比较解读审前羁押的程序问题 ,透视了我国相关制度。反思了我国完善这项制度的出路以及面对的困境。     

Assessing the Impact of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI): Predictors of Secure Detention and Length of Stay Before and After JDAI

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) seeks to reduce the reliance on pre-dispositional detention. While anecdotal evidence indicates that the program has enjoyed some success in reducing detention populations, no controlled study has assessed the efficacy of the program. The current study investigated the impact of JDAI following its adoption in one Virginia juvenile court. Specifically, using data on all juveniles referred to intake over a seven-year period, the research analyzed predictors of detention and length of stay before and after JDAI. Results indicate that after the implementation of JDAI, greater emphasis was placed on legal factors including offense seriousness and prior record, though the increased emphasis was greater for non-whites than for white youth. Additionally, results suggest that after JDAI’s adoption, older non-white youth were more likely to receive secure detention while non-white females received some degree of leniency compared to non-white males.     

论我国看守所立法

作为与监狱不同的羁押场所,看守所的主要功能是保证未决犯的合法权利、确保刑事诉讼活动的顺利进行。看守所立法有其特有的历史脉络与现实状况,看守所立法指导着看守所工作的发展与进步。从目前来看,我国看守所的立法工作还需明确法律修改目标、合理规范看守所法律地位及其职能、加强对羁押过程中的人权保障、加强对看守所工作的监督等。     

超期羁押:性质·成因·对策

超期羁押是具有多方面社会危害性的违法行为;造成超期羁押,既有公安司法人员执法观念方面的原因,亦有法律制度及执法工作机制方面的原因;与此相适应,解决超期羁押的对策,也应该是综合性的。     

刑事羁押期限:立法的缺陷及其救济

科学设计刑事羁押期限应坚持谦抑原则。坚持刑事羁押的谦抑原则、缩减羁押期限是法制宽容精神的体现 ,是无罪推定原则的必然要求 ,是保证刑罚及时性和刑罚效果的需要 ,体现了对犯罪嫌疑人和被告程序主体地位的尊重。从立法上看 ,我国刑事羁押期限制度有诸多缺陷 :规定的依附性和不完整性 ;羁押期限较长 ;羁押期限与涉嫌犯罪的非比例性 ;决定羁押期限延长程序的不公开 ;重新计算羁押期限的立法过于原则等等。建议将羁押期限的立法规定独立开来 ,同时适当缩减拘留、审查起诉和审判的期限 ,废除补充侦查制度 ,明确规定重新计算羁押期限的法定情形 ,严格控制对羁押期限的延长。     

监察留置适用中的程序问题

留置包括决定立案时的留置与调查过程中的留置。鉴于留置只有在经过调查核实且确实掌握了部分违法犯罪事实及证据且听取了被调查人的意见之后才宜适用,立案决定时的留置应当限制适用。在留置持续期间发现新的犯罪事实,不能另行适用留置;留置解除后,在特定情形下,可以再次适用留置。依照合目的性或者合条件性判断,留置应当解除或者可以解除。在监察案件与侦查案件相关联的情形下,应当注意留置与刑事强制措施的衔接。     

羁押场所巡视制度研究报告

作为一种程序外的酷刑预防机制,羁押场所巡视制度通过邀请社会公众不定期地、未经事先通知地访问看守所,巡视看守所的羁押条件、羁押执法活动是否符合我国法律、法规的相关规定,有效地提高了看守所被羁押人的待遇、促进了监管机关执法的规范化。制度的试行还向社会公众传递了看守所规范执法的积极信息,增强了公众对看守所的了解与信赖。该试点研究通过比对试点前后的相关数据,包括衡量看守所条件、权利保障状况的指标得出了上述结论。     

刑事案件"延长羁押期限"问题研究

我国现行的延长羁押制度对于成功地展开刑事追诉活动,防止嫌疑人、被告人逃避侦查和审判,避免其毁灭证据、串供甚至威胁证人、被害人等,都是卓有成效的;在不断的延长羁押过程中,嫌疑人、被告人也丧失了再犯新罪、自杀以及危害社会的能力。但作为一种沉重的代价,延长羁押制度法治化水平也确实是不高的,无论是延长羁押法定、程序保障、比例性等实体性原则,还是权力监督、司法救济等程序性原则,都没能在我国延长羁押制度中得以确立。拟通过分析延长羁押制度存在的问题,有针对性地提出改革、完善现行延长羁押制度的具体对策。     

论现代审前羁押制度遵循的普遍原则

原则作为规则的基础或本源是一种综合性、稳定性原理和准则,其特点是不预先设定任何确定的、具体的事实状 态,没有规定具体的权利和义务,更没有确定的法律后果,可称为规则的规则,是法律推理的权威出发点。审前羁 押制度遵循的普遍原则是指设置羁押制度时指导并使羁押制度具体化的原理和准则,是审前羁押制度以现代法 治理念为基础所形成的准则,归纳起来就是:程序法定原则、必要性原则、例外原则、比例原则、司法裁判原则和法 律救济原则。     

关于对现行犯适用先行拘留的思考

现行犯是指正在预备犯罪、实行犯罪或者犯罪后即时被发觉的人。刑事诉讼法规定对现行犯可以适用先行拘留。对刑诉法所规定的"先行拘留",理论和实践中众说纷纭,诸如立案前拘留、逮捕前拘留、无证拘留和有证拘留等等。这些观点均有违立法精神,造成了司法实践中对拘留的适用无所适从。先行拘留和拘留是有区别的,对现行犯可以先行拘留,应当理解为"先抓获后拘留"。     

拘役执法证据问题之探析

近几年,针对拘役执法机构的诉讼和信访案件屡有发生,造成极为负面的社会影响。在当前形势下,无论是从提高教育矫治质量,还是有效控制和化解执法风险上讲,拘役执法机构应当强化证据意识,规范证据体系,严格证据审查与保全。     

刑事诉讼中拘捕与羁押制度分立问题研究

羁押中所存在的问题是我国刑事司法实践中的顽疾,一直得不到彻底的解决。因此必须从制度层面上寻找出我国羁押制度的内在缺陷。我国刑事诉讼立法上未对拘捕与羁押进行区分,而设置了拘捕与羁押一体化的结构。这种结构上具有天生的缺陷,是我国羁押中存在问题的一个重要原因。     

关于拘留转为逮捕证明要求的调查报告及分析

本调查报告经对９个刑警支队和９０个刑警大队千余名刑警的问卷调查和１０多次刑警、检察官座谈会后得出结论,现行拘留转为逮捕的证明要求偏高,部分案件在法定期限内无法或难于完成,建议将证明要求降低为有证据证明有犯罪重大嫌疑,同时将拘留审查时间缩短为几十个小时。本文还建议设立逮捕审查制,被逮捕人就逮捕必要性,可请求检察院复议。复核;提起公诉后,向合议庭提出申请,对合议庭决定不服的,可提起上诉。     

公安刑事拘留专项检察监督调研分析

目前我国公安刑事拘留实践中存在拘留对象扩大化、任意延长拘留期限、被拘留人员权利保障不足等诸多问题,其中一个重要原因在于检察机关不能对公安刑事拘留实施有效的法律监督,因此,必须完善相关立法,建立刑事拘留检察监督的长效工作机制。     

The Effect of Pretrial Detention on Sentencing in Two Federal Districts

While a substantial body of research indicates that legal variables, such as offense severity and criminal history, principally shape sentencing decisions, other studies demonstrate that extralegal factors such as race, gender, and age influence sentencing outcomes, as well. The handful of studies focusing upon the effect of pretrial detention/release on sentencing outcomes indicate that pretrial detention is associated with greater lengths of incarceration. This study—the first to empirically examine the sentencing consequences of pretrial detention in the United States federal courts—employed a sample of 1,723 cases from two district courts (New Jersey and Pennsylvania Eastern). Pretrial detention and, to a lesser degree, revocation of granted pretrial supervision were associated with increased prison sentences; on the other hand, successfully completing a term of pretrial services supervision was associated with shorter sentence length. Implications for the federal criminal justice system are discussed.