Jail or Bail? There’s a New Option

Supervised Release: A New Alternative to Jail or Bail

Overview

• The article discusses "supervised release" as an alternative to bail for individuals who cannot afford it, allowing them to be released before trial under a form of parole.
• This program aims to reduce the jail population on Rikers Island and potentially facilitate its closure.

Nafisha's Story

• Nafisha, a 25-year-old home health aide, was arrested after an argument with her cousin.
• Given her previous record of failing to appear in court, she anticipated being held on bail.
• Instead, she was offered pretrial supervised release, allowing her to remain with her infant daughter.
• The charges against Nafisha were ultimately dismissed.

Impact of Supervised Release

• Since its implementation in 2016, over 11,000 people have participated in the supervised release program.
• The mayor's office attributes 38% of the decline in Rikers Island's jail population to this program.
• The goal is to reduce the inmate population to 5,000, enabling the closure of Rikers Island and relocation of detainees to smaller facilities.

Judge George A. Grasso

• Judge George A. Grasso, the supervising judge for arraignments citywide, advocates for supervised release.
• His background as a former NYPD officer informs his perspective on the program.
• He emphasizes that decisions should not be driven by fear but by justice.

Arraignment Significance

• Arraignment is a crucial stage where the judge decides whether to detain the defendant pretrial or release them on bail.
• This decision significantly impacts the case's trajectory and the defendant's future.
• Detention can pressure defendants to accept guilty pleas.
• A 2018 study in the American Economic Review found that defendants held in jail before trial were approximately 10% more likely to plead guilty.

Kalief Browder's Case

• Kalief Browder, who was held on Rikers for three years for allegedly stealing a backpack, became a symbol of pretrial reform.
• The charges were eventually dropped, but Browder struggled after his release and later committed suicide.
• His family was awarded 3.3 \, \text{million} in a wrongful-death lawsuit.

New York City's Approach to Bail

• New York City was among the first to demonstrate that most defendants released without bail return to court.
• In 2017, New York City judges released 67% of defendants without bail, compared to other jurisdictions with fewer than half.

Supervised Release Program Details

• The supervised release program offers a third option between unconditional release and detention on bail.
• Participants meet with case managers from independent nonprofits who assist with court appearances and connect them to social services.
• Supervision duration varies, lasting from a few months for misdemeanors to over a year for felonies.

Case Management

• Eric Simmons, a social worker at Bronx Community Solutions, manages around 60 defendants.
• He helped a client with a decades-long heroin addiction obtain identification, access drug treatment, and reconnect with his daughters.

Program Design and Implementation

• The New York City program is based on evidence-based practices from other cities' pretrial supervision programs.
• Unlike programs that use electronic ankle bracelets and mandatory drug testing, New York City's program does not incorporate these practices.
• Case managers are social workers, emphasizing community connections over law enforcement.
• Felony theft and drug possession are common charges among participants.
• Those at lowest risk meet with a case manager monthly, while those at highest risk meet weekly, with weekly phone check-ins.
• Judges receive updates on participants' compliance.
• After initial rapid growth, the program has stabilized at around 400 new cases per month.
• In the program’s first three years, 89% of defendants made all court appearances and only 8% were rearrested for a felony while in the program.

Criticisms and Concerns

• Some, like prosecutor James Quinn, believe the program poses a risk to public safety, citing that nearly 20% of those on supervised release are rearrested.
• There are concerns that the program may be enrolling defendants who would have been released unconditionally otherwise.
• Even the light touch of supervised release can inadvertently harm participants, creating risks due to increased contact with the criminal justice system.

Program Limitations

• The program does not currently accept those charged with violent felonies or domestic violence, which make up over half the pretrial jail population.
• Some argue that excluding certain offenses reinforces the idea that those charged with violent crimes are less deserving of the presumption of innocence.

Risk Assessment and Uncertainty

• Judges may detain defendants out of fear due to the inherent uncertainty in predicting future behavior.
• Reformers argue that there are also risks associated with keeping people in jail who do not belong there.

Program Expansion and Shifting Attitudes

• The city has begun allowing those 17 and under charged with certain violent felonies to participate in a youth track of supervised release.
• Brooklyn has a pilot program for people as old as 19, and other boroughs may follow.
• Some prosecutors and victims’ advocacy groups are open to supervised release for people charged with misdemeanor domestic violence.
• In 2017, bail was set in nearly 6,000 misdemeanor domestic violence cases.

Domestic Violence Cases

• Dorchen Leidholdt of Sanctuary for Families acknowledges the harm of pretrial detention but emphasizes victim safety as paramount.
• She suggests that intensive risk assessment could allow judges discretion in offering supervised release in domestic abuse cases.