First Appearance

November-December 2020

The First Appearance is an NCSL digital newsletter for state legislators, legislative staff and others interested in pretrial release policy. This newsletter provides monthly updates on state interests, actions and resources and provides links to the latest research.

New! The Statutory Framework of Pretrial Release

State law creates the legal framework for pretrial release practices, governing a defendant’s eligibility for release and how they are released. Practices in local jurisdictions must meet these minimum standards. This new report provides a 50-state overview of current constitutional and statutory frameworks in the states. Read More>>

Just and Well: Rethinking How States Approach Competency to Stand Trial

Competency to stand trial (CST) has been an issue in many states with long delays and resource challenges causing people to languish in jail while states contend with the high associated costs. State lawmakers and NCSL staff contributed to this Council of State Governments Justice Center report to help inform the strategies it contains for bettering the CST process. Read More>>

The Cache

• Policing Project & Center for Policing Equity: Collecting, Analyzing and Responding to Stop Data: A Guidebook for Law Enforcement Agencies, Government and Communities
• Policing Project: Policing Protests to Protect Constitutional Rights and Public Safety
• Safety + Justice Challenge & JFA Institute: The Impact of COVID-19 on Crime, Arrests and Jail Populations
• Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS):
  • Addressing Four Officer Safety and Wellness Pillars in Smaller and Rural Communities
  • Recruiting and Retaining Officers in Small and Rural Agencies
• The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine: Decarcerating Correctional Facilities during COVID-19

In the News

• New from Stateline: Police ‘Pretext’ Traffic Stops Need to End, Some Lawmakers Say.
• Pairing mental health counselors with police on calls shows promise in Colorado. See a new evaluation of the programs from Colorado’s Office of Behavioral Health.
• New from the NYU School of Law Policing Project, the Manuals Initiative. See findings from a survey of the largest 200 U.S. police departments about the transparency of police department manuals, including the finding that state legislation is an effective way to ensure that police agencies post their manuals online.
• Jail populations have declined in response to COVID-19 policy changes, but delays in processing cases could push population numbers back up.
• California voters rejected Proposition 25, which would have made California the first state to entirely eliminate financial conditions of pretrial release.
• State lawmakers play a key role in U.S. policing policy and reforms, they can look to corrections reforms for guidance going forward.