PRETRIAL RELEASE AND BAIL DECISIONS

This study examines the relative effects of a number of legal and extralegal factors on (1) the decision to release on recognizance and (2) the decision on amount of money bail. Social science research on these issues has been sparse compared to that on other phases of the criminal justice process. Findings from a regression analysis show that the first step of the bond disposition process, the recognizance decision, is influenced by several factors. The demeanor of defendants in open court is the most important. Net of other influences, good demeanor increases the probability of release on recognizance by 34.8%. In cases where recognizance is denied, only two variables are related significantly to the amount of money bond. Net of other influences, a felony offense (as opposed to a misdemeanor) increases predicted bail by $2300, and poor demeanor increases the predicted bail required by $1600.     

刑事庭前程序研究

<正> 刑事庭前程序也称刑事庭前审查程序(以下简称庭前程序),是指在检察机关提起公诉之后法院开庭审判之前,由专职法官对案件进行审查,以决定是否将被告人交付法庭审判以及进行必要的庭审预备活动的程序。完备的庭前程序对于庭审程序的开启、运作方式乃至庭审结果都发挥着重要影响,是审判程序不可缺少的组成部分。1996年修改后刑事诉讼法第150条对公诉案件的审查程序的规定过于简略、粗糙,与庭前程序的目的与功能相差甚远,以至于     

INTERVIEWING CHILDREN IN CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

Child interviews are a central part of custody evaluations that affect many families, and ways to maximize their accuracy and usefulness are discussed. Empirical research on children of divorce is emphasized in a conceptual strategy for collecting interview data. Information about child interviews from the custody evaluation literature is reviewed, as are relevant research findings about the accuracy of children's statements. Implications for practice are proposed that integrate research findings and recommendations from the literature.     

CRIME,ARRESTS, AND PRETRIAL JAIL INCARCERATION: AN EXAMINATION OF THE DETERRENCE THESIS*

Using longitudinal data calibrated in daily intervals and a vector ARMA (VARMA) study design, we investigate the causal relations among the number of crimes reported to the police, the frequency of arrest, and the number of defendants held in pretrial jail confinement. Results show a lagged negative effect of frequency of arrest on reported crime. As the number of wrests made by police increases, the number of index crimes reported to authorities decreases substantially the following day. Additionally the analysis reveals a significant positive contemporaneous relationship between criminal activity and arrest levels. No feedback effects among the three variables are noted. In sum, our findings add empirical support to the thesis that the instantaneous and lagged relationship between crime and clearances are of opposite sign. That is, criminal activity increases arrest levels instantaneously, or at least relatively so, while the negative effect of arrest levels on crime levels transpires more gradually.     

RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN PRETRIAL RELEASE DECISIONS AND OUTCOMES: A COMPARISON OF HISPANIC,BLACK, AND WHITE FELONY ARRESTEES*

The present study uses data on the processing of felony defendants in large urban courts to examine Hispanic, black, and white differences at the pretrial release stage. The major finding is that Hispanic defendants are more likely to be detained than white and black defendants. And, racial/ethnic differences are most pronounced in drug cases. In fact, Hispanic defendants suffer a triple burden at the pretrial release stage as they are the group most likely to be required to pay bail to gain release, the group that receives the highest bail amounts, and the group least able to pay bail. These findings are consistent with a focal concerns perspective of criminal case processing that suggests Hispanics as a newly immigrated group are especially prone to harsher treatment in the criminal case process.