NCJ Number
95705
Date Published
1984
Length
54 pages
Annotation
Results are presented of a study undertaken to examine the feasibility of developing a guidelines approach to bail in the Philadelphia courts.
Abstract
Guidelines development of the variety undertaken in the study proceeds in two stages: a descriptive and a prescriptive stage. The objective of the first phase of guidelines research in the jurisdiction under study is to describe current decision practices as well as the use of social science methods. If current practices do not conform to desired policy, guidelines research may move into the second phase, during which guidelines governing future decision practices may be formulated. During the descriptive component of the bail guidelines research in Philadelphia, data were analyzed to fuel debates concerning the goals of the bail decision and the standards that governed it. A central goal of the prescriptive component was to develop models for improving Philadelphia bail decisions in the event that municipal court judges viewed that as desirable. The judges of the municipal court decided to adopt bail guidelines for use by the entire court beginning in spring 1982. Results of the feasibility study and subsequent experiments suggest great promise for the bail guidelines strategy. The judges using guidelines decided bail within the suggested range approximately 75 percent of the time; a dramatically more consistent approach to bail resulted. Implications of the experiment are discussed. Thirty-three references are included.