Pretrial justice policies have recently emerged as a high profile issue and have a broad impact, as some 12 million Americans are jailed every year. These policies seek to balance the constitutional presumption of innocence and the negative effects of separating many people from their families, employment, and pro-social activities with the need to protect public safety and ensure defendants appear in court. Litigation is pending in courts around the country concerning bail policies and states such as New Jersey and New Mexico have recently enacted major reforms within the last year. Other jurisdictions like Seattle and Florida are intervening even earlier in the process by reducing jail intakes through policies such as police diversion and civil citations. These reforms carry significant implications for the legal community in areas such as indigent defense. Join us for a discussion of the legal and policy trends in this area and insights into the future of pretrial justice policies.
Featuring:
Marc A. Levin, Vice President, Criminal Justice Policy, Texas Public Policy Foundation
John-Michael Seibler, Legal Fellow, Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, Institute for Constitutional Government, The Heritage Foundation
Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.