The Pretrial Quarterly is an NCSL electronic newsletter for state legislators, legislative staff, and others interested in pretrial release policy. This newsletter provides quarterly updates on state pretrial action and legislation and new NCSL resources. It also links to latest research and highlights pretrial policy in the news.
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FROM THE STATES
THE CACHE
IN THE NEWS
- California Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D) led a discussion about the need to change California’s system of pretrial release.
- Cass County started a pretrial release program with grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Local officials say that the program is saving money and will ultimately keep more people from reoffending. Find out more.
- Essays from a police chief, a district attorney, a public defender, a probation officer, and the president of the National Association of Counties on pretrial reform and diverting people from the “front door” of the criminal justice system.
- Local officials say that their pretrial release pilot project in Yellowstone County, Mont., has already saved 23,574 jail days in the first year.
- An in-depth look at how Washington, D.C., does pretrial release differently.
- Reality TV star Beth Chapman is the new president of Professional Bail Agents of the United States and will be in Mississippi this month for the group’s annual conference.
- A small group from Yale University just launched the Connecticut Bail Fund. The group posts bail for defendants who would otherwise be jailed, and pairs each defendant with a “community navigator.”
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This newsletter is prepared under a partnership project of NCSL’s Criminal Justice Program and the Public Welfare Foundation. Links to external websites and reports are for information purposes only and do not indicate NCSL’s endorsement of the content.