The cumulative disadvantages of pretrial detention

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Every year, millions of people are held in pretrial detention across the United States, and billions of dollars are spent on their confinement. While some defendants are held preventatively due to safety concerns, most are held on an unaffordable bail where, if they were of greater means, they would likely be released pretrial. Since pretrial detention is one of the first decisions made in case processing, it has the potential to impact defendants' adjudication and sentencing outcomes. Through three interrelated studies, this dissertation aims to better understand the downstream consequences of pretrial detention, including who experiences the cumulative disadvantages of pretrial detention and under what circumstances. Study one uses systematic review and meta-analysis to establish what we know about the relationship between pretrial detention and case outcomes. Studies two and three use the Bureau of Justice Statistics' State Court Processing Statistics to explore how defendants detained for different reasons experience cumulative disadvantage and how cumulative disadvantage shifted alongside the repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Relying on advanced analyses, including meta-analysis and path modeling, findings suggest that detained defendants generally face more severe case outcomes than released defendants, and in particular, their likelihood of incarceration, being convicted, and pleading guilty. Both defendants held on bail and denied bail are subjected to this cumulative disadvantage despite the fundamental differences between these groups of defendants. Though, the cumulative disadvantages of pretrial detention have shifted over time alongside policy changes. Given the current bail reform movement, these findings have important implications for research and policy - namely, reducing the number of people held in pretrial detention and reducing the burdens of pretrial detention on those who are confined.--Author's abstract