Over 75% of those detained in local jails have not been convicted of a crime, and those in pretrial detention face the loss of employment and housing; suffer disruptions in education, medical treatment, and medications; and experience serious damage to their family and community relationships.

Financial bond should be used as a last resort. In most cases, pretrial supervision and less onerous conditions can serve to ensure the accused’s appearance and public’s safety without the discriminatory and disparate impact of financial bond. Learn more for your bail & bond case-related issues here.

Presented by: Chris Bowman, public defender, Grand Junction, CO; and Steven Colvin, public defender, Denver, CO

Presented by: Daniel Zettler, public defender, Salida, CO; Elsa Archambault, public defender, Centennial, CO; Justin Bogan, public defender, Durango, CO; and Sheryl Uhlmann, public defender, Steamboat Springs, CO

Presented by Isaac Bryan, Master of Public Policy candidate, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Race Matters II: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice
January 10-11, 2019 | Los Angeles, CA

Despite assurances that, “[I]n our society, liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial…the carefully limited exception,” over 75 percent of those detained in local jails have not been convicted of a crime.

22^nd Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference
August 16-17, 2023 | Held Virtually

Before bail reform, 60% of people in New York jails were being held pretrial. Reforms reduced jail numbers in 93% of counties, but misinformation about public safety fueled rollbacks. Hear lessons learned from advocates in New York, as well as receive tips and strategies around responding to critics and addressing concerns of court actors, legislators, and others.

NACDL's 19th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference
August 17-19, 2020 | Held Virtually

Find training materials and resources to assist attorneys in providing high quality representation as part of the Texas Counsel At First Appearance (CAFA) Project.

On April 6 and 7, 2017, NACDL, the Foundation for Criminal Justice, the Monroe Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Center for Court Innovation, and the State of New York Unified Court System convened a conference designed to explore the impediments to and reforms needed to ensure effective justice in all stages of the criminal process, with a particular focus on the judicial role in high-volume misdemeanor courts. [Released December 2017]

NACDL continues to work to combat misinformation and pushback to key bail reforms enacted in New York.

Summary of provisions in the FY 2023 New York State budget that impact bail, discovery, and other criminal justice reforms. 

Coalition letter calling upon Governor Hochul, Lieutenant Governor Benjamin, and legislative leaders to protect bail, discovery, and Raise the Age reforms in New York.

Coalition letter to Governor Greg Abbott, of Texas, regarding his executive order (GA-13) refusing to allow release of inmates from state detention facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Guide to Address Risk Assessment Tools

In the report released November 2020, NACDL provided an in-depth analysis of risk assessment instruments that demystifies the process by which they are developed and applied in practice.

The Bail Reform Act was supposed to authorize detention for a narrow set of people: those who are highly dangerous or pose a high risk of absconding. But in many cases, judges and prosecutors are jailing people for reasons not allowed by the statutory rules. It is time to bring federal pretrial detention practices back in line with the law.

Hidden in Plain Sight — Reconsidering the Use of Race Correction in Clinical Algorithms (bond & the criminal legal system is used as an example). Published in the New England Journal of Medicine.