People who are arrested, charged with an offense, and subsequently incarcerated to await trial, are subject to an initial appearance in front of a judge, where their eligibility for release is determined. The basic factors considered for release include a person’s likelihood to appear for future court dates, their perceived risk to the community, their prior criminal history, the crime charged, and their ability to pay bail. Historically, release options were either, release on own recognizance, or the imposition of an arbitrary bail amount. A new option for release emerged in the 1980s – release on own recognizance, but with a monitoring component. Primarily referred to as pretrial monitoring, it serves to relieve our nation’s overcrowded …show more content…
Those that qualify either cannot afford a bond, cash or surety, or are not trustworthy enough for release on own recognizance (OR). Pretrial monitoring officers interview defendants and create reports on each person which encapsulate their ties to the community (i.e. family, friends), employment, criminal history, etc. With this report, an officer makes an impartial recommendation to the Court, at the defendant’s initial first appearance; a recommendation for OR, pretrial monitoring, or bond. If a person is granted release on pretrial monitoring, they are subject to the requirements of the program, which will likely be tailored according to the needs and evaluation of the …show more content…
The municipal and county branches, process defendants with misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, and felonies. Though not the focus of this paper, the U.S. Pretrial Services (USPTS) is worth mentioning on occasion, for comparison. The USPTS emerged from the Pretrial Services Act of 1982 (18 US.C. §3152), and operates within clear and consistent guidelines, whereas local governments do not. Local organizations that operate a pretrial monitoring program, can structurally take many forms. Often, they may operate at the executive level, to remain independent and therefore impartial to the interests of the courts and detention facilities. They will vary in the size of their operation, as well as in what services they can offer, when compared to other cities across the nation. To affirm, fundamentally, the purpose of the program remains intact regardless of its name, jurisdiction, or levels of
First federal attempt to define eligibility for pretrial release using objective indicators such as danger to the community, as well as the risk of flight
The process of transferring juveniles to adult courts has shown no effects on decreasing recidivism or a deterrent outcome. Waiver as it is known has three means by which a juvenile can be transferred to an adult court. Judicial waiver offenses, statutory exclusions, and concurrent jurisdiction are the three methods in which a waiver can occur. This research will describe each one of these methods with detail. It will also provide statistical facts showing why waiver can be a very debatable topic within the juvenile criminal justice system. In its totality it will discuss the arguments for and against waiver.
The quagmire of placing juveniles in adult facilities is the risk factors juveniles may experience while incarcerated. Being that juveniles are young and smaller to the adult offenders, they may be seen as a prey or easy target for rape, assault, mental issues which eventually leads to suicide. We must keep in mind that juveniles are youth meaning they are still a child, not an adult and should not be exposed to adult incarceration environment. Although it is cost saving to place juveniles and adults under one facility, it is unethical because they are not built and yet mentally ready and prepared to experience adult facilities. Alternative strategies are available to assist juvenile detainees such as healthcare, education, recreation, and work experience. The Juvenile Court Act of 1899 gave leniency to youth under the age of 16. Placing youth detainees with adult offenders will result in the reduction of rehabilitation services for youth, while increasing the rate of being a victim as a potential prey o...
Pretrial diversion process is when defendants charged with non-serious offenses are diverted in lieu of prosecution, if they agree to complete certain requirements such as community services, enrollment in rehabilitation program, conditional supervision. The process give first time offenders a second chance at having a clean criminal record. The prosecutor’s office serve as a gateway as to which defendants are eligible for pretrial diversion process. Defendants are evaluate on certain factors to determine if the likelihood of future criminal behavior or noncompliance.
Prisons and correctional facilities in the United States have changed from rehabilitating people to housing inmates and creating breeding grounds for more violence. Many local, state, and federal prisons and correctional facilities are becoming more and more overcrowded each year. If the Department of Corrections (DOC) wants to stop having repeat offenders and decrease the volume of inmates entering the criminal justice system, current regulations and programs need to undergo alteration. Actions pushed by attorneys and judges, in conjunction current prison life (including solitary confinement), have intertwined to result in mass incarceration. However, prisoner reentry programs haven’t fully impacted positively to help the inmate assimilate back into society. These alterations can help save the Department of Corrections (DOC) money, decrease the inmate population, and most of all, help rehabilitate them. After inmates are charged with a crime, they go through the judicial system (Due Process) and meet with the prosecutor to discuss sentencing.
from arrest through parole, rather than the result of the activities at any single phase. Addressing
The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.
.... J., & Langton, L. (2010, Sep/Oct). A national assessment of public defender office caseloads []. Judicature, 94(2), 87-91. Retrieved from
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in the year 1980 we had approximately 501,900 persons incarcerated across the United States. By the year 2000, that figure has jumped to over 2,014,000 prisoners. The current level of incarceration represents the continuation of a 25-year escalation of the nation's prison and jail population beginning in 1973. Currently the U.S. rate of 672 per 100,000 is second only to Russia, and represents a level of incarceration that is 6-10 times that of most industrialized nations. The rise in prison population in recent years is particularly remarkable given that crime rates have been falling nationally since 1992. With less crime, one might assume that fewer people would be sentenced to prison. This trend has been overridden by the increasing impact of lengthy mandatory sentencing policies.
The Miranda warnings stem from a United States Court’s decision in the case, Miranda v. Arizona. There are two basic conditions that must be met for Miranda warnings to be required: the suspect must be in official police custody and the suspect must be under interrogation. The suspect goes through a booking process after an arrest. The suspect will have a bond hearing shortly after the completion of the booking process or after arraignment. The arraignment is the suspect’s first court appearance to officially hear the charges filed against him or her and to enter a plea. The preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding determines if there is substantial evidence for the suspect to be tried for the crime charged. In this essay, I will identify and describe at least four rights afforded criminal defendants at the arrest stage and during pretrial. I will analyze the facts presented and other relevant factors in the scenario provided. I will cite legal authority to support my conclusions.
One of the major differences between juvenile and adult corrections is the large number of private facilities in the juvenile system. Private facilities have the luxury of being able to "cherry-pick" their clients, and they can also sometimes do things and perform treatments that public facilities cannot do. One of the big problems in public juvenile justice is how long it takes to get an arrested juvenile tried and adjudicated as a delinquent. Only after they have been so adjudicated can they technically be placed in a "rehabilitation" program, and obviously, this kind of delay exacerbates the problem of delivering psychological services in a timely fashion. Juveniles who are still in detention status can only receive substance abuse treatment, sex education, remedial education, and crisis intervention services.
For county jails, the problem of cost and recidivism is exacerbated by budgetary constraints and various state mandates. Due to the inability of incarceration to satisfy long-term criminal justice objectives and the very high expenditures associated with the sanction, policy makers at various levels of government have sought to identify appropriate alternatives (Luna-Firebaugh, 2003, p.51-66). I. Alternatives to incarceration give courts more options. For example, it’s ridiculous that the majority of the growth in our prison populations in this country is due to people being slamming in jail just because they were caught using drugs. So much of the crime on the streets of our country is drug-related.
They combine current and past criminal information on inmates from police and judicial sources into complete legal reports which assist Parole Board Members with parole decisions. Officers supervise those who are approved to be released on parole and work with other state agencies and community resources to build intervention programs which facilitate the parolee's successful integration back into society. The officer may perform random drug testing, monitor employment history and meet weekly or bimonthly with the offender to guide the parolee's observance of parole conditions
The United States criminal justice system is an ever-changing system that is based on the opinions and ideas of the public. Many of the policies today were established in direct response to polarizing events and generational shifts in ideology. In order to maintain public safety and punish those who break these laws, law enforcement officers arrest offenders and a judge or a group of the law offender’s peers judge their innocence. If found guilty, these individuals are sentenced for a predetermined amount of time in prison and are eventually, evaluated for early release through probation. While on probation, the individual is reintegrated into their community, with restrict limitations that are established for safety.
for youngsters who have a long history of convictions for less serious felonies for which the juvenile court disposition has not been effective” (qtd. in Katel).