NEW Federal judge Lee Rosenthal issued final approval of the settlement agreement and consent decree in the case of ODonnell v. Harris County (Texas). The agreement is expected to result in the prompt pretrial release of 90-95% of people charged with misdemeanors. Under the requirements of the consent decree, the county must provide social workers and investigators to assist lawyers at bail hearings, and judges must implement uniform court appearance policies, waive most court appearances upon request, and implement transparent and straightforward rescheduling and warrant recall processes.

Alaska has rolled back many pretrial justice reforms through HB 49. Failures to appear have become misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the underlying charge, instead of violations. The types of charges for which people can be held for up to 48 hours to allow prosecutors to demonstrate risk of flight or danger to the community has been expanded. The previous law, which took effect in 2016 under SB 91, contained requirements for the court to release people on recognizance or unsecured bonds based on results from pretrial assessment tools conducted by pretrial services officers; the new law says the results from a pretrial assessment tool “shall” be a factor that the court considers, but they are not determinative. The new law also encourages “the use of contemporaneous two-way video conference for pretrial hearings whenever possible,” and adds language that a person may request a bail review hearing based on inability to pay only if the person can show that they made a good faith effort to post required bail. Prior to repeal, the pretrial reforms enacted under.

Alaska has rolled back many pretrial justice reforms through HB 49. Failures to appear have become misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the underlying charge, instead of violations. The types of charges for which people can be held for up to 48 hours to allow prosecutors to demonstrate risk of flight or danger to the community has been expanded. The previous law, which took effect in 2016 under SB 91, contained requirements for the court to release people on recognizance or unsecured bonds based on results from pretrial assessment tools conducted by pretrial services officers; the new law says the results from a pretrial assessment tool “shall” be a factor that the court considers, but they are not determinative. The new law also encourages “the use of contemporaneous two-way video conference for pretrial hearings whenever possible,” and adds language that a person may request a bail review hearing based on inability to pay only if the person can show that they made a good faith effort to post required bail. Prior to repeal, the pretrial reforms enacted under

Alaska has rolled back many pretrial justice reforms through HB 49. Failures to appear have become misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the underlying charge, instead of violations. The types of charges for which people can be held for up to 48 hours to allow prosecutors to demonstrate risk of flight or danger to the community has been expanded. The previous law, which took effect in 2016 under SB 91, contained requirements for the court to release people on recognizance or unsecured bonds based on results from pretrial assessment tools conducted by pretrial services officers; the new law says the results from a pretrial assessment tool “shall” be a factor that the court considers, but they are not determinative. The new law also encourages “the use of contemporaneous two-way video conference for pretrial hearings whenever possible,” and adds language that a person may request a bail review hearing based on inability to pay only if the person can show that they made a good faith effort to post required bail. Prior to repeal, the pretrial reforms enacted under

Alaska has rolled back many pretrial justice reforms through HB 49. Failures to appear have become misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the underlying charge, instead of violations. The types of charges for which people can be held for up to 48 hours to allow prosecutors to demonstrate risk of flight or danger to the community has been expanded. The previous law, which took effect in 2016 under SB 91, contained requirements for the court to release people on recognizance or unsecured bonds based on results from pretrial assessment tools conducted by pretrial services officers; the new law says the results from a pretrial assessment tool “shall” be a factor that the court considers, but they are not determinative. The new law also encourages “the use of contemporaneous two-way video conference for pretrial hearings whenever possible,” and adds language that a person may request a bail review hearing based on inability to pay only if the person can show that they made a good faith effort to post required bail. Prior to repeal, the pretrial reforms enacted under

Alaska has rolled back many pretrial justice reforms through HB 49. Failures to appear have become misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the underlying charge, instead of violations. The types of charges for which people can be held for up to 48 hours to allow prosecutors to demonstrate risk of flight or danger to the community has been expanded. The previous law, which took effect in 2016 under SB 91, contained requirements for the court to release people on recognizance or unsecured bonds based on results from pretrial assessment tools conducted by pretrial services officers; the new law says the results from a pretrial assessment tool “shall” be a factor that the court considers, but they are not determinative. The new law also encourages “the use of contemporaneous two-way video conference for pretrial hearings whenever possible,” and adds language that a person may request a bail review hearing based on inability to pay only if the person can show that they made a good faith effort to post required bail. Prior to repeal, the pretrial reforms enacted under

Alaska has rolled back many pretrial justice reforms through HB 49. Failures to appear have become misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the underlying charge, instead of violations. The types of charges for which people can be held for up to 48 hours to allow prosecutors to demonstrate risk of flight or danger to the community has been expanded. The previous law, which took effect in 2016 under SB 91, contained requirements for the court to release people on recognizance or unsecured bonds based on results from pretrial assessment tools conducted by pretrial services officers; the new law says the results from a pretrial assessment tool “shall” be a factor that the court considers, but they are not determinative. The new law also encourages “the use of contemporaneous two-way video conference for pretrial hearings whenever possible,” and adds language that a person may request a bail review hearing based on inability to pay only if the person can show that they made a good faith effort to post required bail. Prior to repeal, the pretrial reforms enacted under