Pretrial Justice in Virginia
Despite the fact that the data shows the overwhelming majority of individuals appear for their court dates and are not charged with any new crimes while awaiting trial, many Virginians face harmful pretrial detention. As incarceration for even a single day has substantial negative impacts on those detained, their families, and their cases, it is critical that steps be taken to mitigate against the use of unnecessary pretrial detention and promote practices that facilitate the prompt release of individuals awaiting trial.
Pretrial Justice Report Early Representation Manual
Presumptions Against Bail VA PDP Reports Data Dashboard
A new report by Dr. Ariel BenYishay, 
Pretrial Justice in Virginia - What Light Can the New Pretrial Data Project Microdata Shed?, finds practices which promote detention decisions guided by the nature of a person's charge, do not improve public safety.
Analyzing data from the Virginia Pretrial Data Project, Dr. BenYishay's research shows that defendants subject to presumptions against bail were no more likely to be arrested for a new offense than otherwise similar defendants not subject to presumptions.
The report also finds legislation raising the felony larceny threshold from $200 to $500 correlated with an increase in the number of people released on unsecured bonds, with no negative impact on appearance rates, new arrest rates, or a rise in new larceny charges. The report examines some of racial disparities that permeate the pretrial process.
To support Virginia defense lawyers’ advocacy on behalf of clients in pretrial detention, NACDL has developed The Virginia Early Representation Manual. The Manual provides information on bail practices & release advocacy, the role of counsel at initial appearance, and understanding the various risk assessment tools used in the Commonwealth.
Presumptions Against Bail
- Based on an analysis of data gathered as part of the 2017 Pretrial Data Project (PDP), it is estimated at least 10% of defendants were subject to presumptions against bail that were based upon the particular offense they were charged with.
- An examination of those defendants and their case outcomes reveals that those who were subject to a presumption against bail, but were released, were no more likely to be arrested for a new offense than defendants with similar criminal histories and risk assessment scores who were not subject to a presumption.
- This supports a conclusion that one's risk of engaging in additional criminal activity is not closely correlated with the initial offense with which an individual is charged.
- In 2021, The Virginia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1266, removing the presumptive denial of bail for certain categories of offenses, ending a practice that served only to increase rates of pretrial detention with no corresponding benefit to public safety.
- The total additional costs imposed by the use of presumptions is estimated to be at least $65.7 million.
- Defendants, their families, and their communities also bear myraid other costs ranging from lost employment and income to increased likelihood of convictions and harsher sentences.
Virginia Pretrial Data Project Reports
Virginia’s Pretrial Data Project was established in 2018 under the direction of the Virginia State Crime Commission as part of the Crime Commission’s broader study of the pretrial system in the Commonwealth. Starting in 2021, the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission continued this work. The Sentencing Commission’s data analysis, presented in this report, focuses on adult defendants whose contact event included a charge for a new criminal offense punishable by incarceration where a bail determination was made by a judicial officer (i.e., a magistrate or judge). Other defendants, such as those released on a summons, were not analyzed for this report. This report presents various descriptive findings for the selected defendants, their key characteristics, how they proceeded through the pretrial system, and outcomes. This report also compares a number of measures across multiple years of data now available.
2021-2022 Virginia's Pretrial Data Project Report
See More Virginia Pretrial Data Project Reports
Virginia Pretrial Data Dashboard
The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission has created a pretrial data dashboard, incorporating PDP datasets starting in 2018. The chart belowshows the bond amounts for different race and gender cohorts, which can be further filtered by attorney type, indigency status, locality, region, or year.
