Bellow Scholars Program Report on Projects: Anna VanCleave, University of Connecticut School of Law - Bail, Detention, and Pretrial Procedures in Connecticut: An Analysis of Current Practices and Recommendations for the Elimination of Cash Bail

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Session Type: Bellow Scholars

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: Waterview A

Floor: Lobby Level

For at least a decade, Connecticut stakeholders have been engaged in serious discussions about eliminating cash bail. Despite extensive research, fact-gathering, and dissemination of information, only incremental changes have been made to date and cash bail continues to hold between 3,000 and 4,000 people in Connecticut jails at any given time. This project aims to gather data on bail/detention practices and impacts that will inform discussions about the current state of affairs and the necessary components of a bail reform package. This research project is one piece of a multi-pronged effort that is currently in progress to inform discussions about what a Connecticut bail reform package will look like. This project aims to answer a broad question: How well do current procedures function for assessing which individuals should be detained? Specifically, the project will be driven by the following questions: 1) Are courts adhering to bail/detention procedures set forth for initial bail hearings, automatic bail review hearings, and hearings on bail modification motions? 2) How often are defense lawyers filing motions for bail modification? Have the filings increased, decreased, or stayed the same since the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision, State v. Pan? 3) How well do current bail/detention procedures anticipate who will be deemed a risk to public safety at the conclusion of the case?