“HE WAS listed as a three, your honour.” “He’s a two on the raw score.” “On danger to the community, he scores a five.” The defendant, a lean, bearded man in an orange jumpsuit and shackles, sits next to his lawyer, listening intently to his rankings on a six-point scale. Welcome to the world of pre-trial hearings in New Jersey, which on January 1st became the first state to eliminate almost completely the use of bail. Instead of relying on hunches, or a fixed schedule matching bail amounts to crimes and lawyers’ arguments to set bail, judges there now use a nine-factor algorithm to assess whether a defendant is dangerous or likely to flee. Those thought to be in either category can be detained; the rest are released, but monitored.
Defenders of New Jersey’s experiment point to a dramatic decline in the state’s jail population, driven by a reduction in the number of poor, non-dangerous offenders who are...Continue reading
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