| Popis: |
A precedent question to debates about bail reform is whether cash bail achieves the aim of assuring safety in the community and appearance in court. The Humphrey case in California (decided on January 25, 2018) provides a potential natural experiment to use in determining the efficacy of money bail. Before the case, bail amounts were set at levels that were often unaffordable to arrested individuals. The case required courts had to consider a defendant’s ability to pay bail in determining the level of bail set. We will use data from San Francisco County where the Humphrey decision – although pending appeal – has led to substantial changes in the use of bail. Using a difference-in-differences models, we will use the time periods pre-and post-Humphrey to understand the effect of release on bail vs. pretrial detention on case outcomes, and the effect of supervised pretrial release vs. release on own recognizance on case outcomes, safety rates, and appearance rates. |
