Document Type
Article
Source Publication Title
Criminal Justice Policy Review 2017
First Page
1
Last Page
36
DOI
10.1177/0887403417714560
Abstract
Misdemeanor bail schedules use the seriousness of the alleged crime and the defendant’s criminal history. Court officials contend the schedules ensure that only legal factors are considered for bail. Using longitudinal data from randomly selected misdemeanor cases filed during the first quarter of 2012 in Harris County, Texas we use ordinary least squares (OLS) to test the influence of demographic characteristics of defendants and their ability to retain private representation on the process of setting the monetary amount for bail. We find evidence of implicit bias and a distinct advantage of private representation. Using logit analysis, we estimate how demographic factors and monetary bail influence the probability of pretrial release and present point estimates of making bail by demographic type. Demographics matter but retaining private counsel increases the probability of bail by sevenfold. Policy recommendations include expanding the use of public defenders and allowing them access to clients much earlier in the process. ** Contact librariesops@uta.edu if you are the author.**
Disciplines
Public Affairs | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Publication Date
1-1-2017
Language
English
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hissong, Rod V. and Wheeler, Gerald, "Demographics and Legal Representation in Pretrial Release: The Role of Private Legal Representation and the Implicit Effect of Defendants’ Demographic Characteristics in Setting Bail and Obtaining Pretrial Release" (2017). Public Affairs Faculty Publications. 5.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/publicaffairs_facultypubs/5