We work with judges and pretrial agencies to improve outcomes for individuals awaiting trial, reduce costly and unnecessary pretrial supervision conditions, and use pretrial staff resources more efficiently.
Overview
Many jurisdictions release people from jail while awaiting trial and place them on supervision conditions, such as regular check-ins with a pretrial officer or drug tests. To make decisions about assigning or changing supervision conditions, judges often need information about their pretrial clients — such as who is on which supervision conditions, whether they show up to court, and if they have remained arrest-free.
However, judges often lack this data, resulting in an unnecessarily high number of people being assigned restrictive and expensive supervision conditions that compound over time. Overly restrictive supervision conditions add costs for both pretrial clients and government agencies, such as an increased risk that an individual will be sent to jail if they break the conditions of their release and an unmanageable strain on pretrial agency caseloads.
Develop alternative approaches to traditional punitive conditions
Initially, the GPL created a feedback loop for County Criminal Court judges. The pilot project that the GPL ran shared data with judges with the intent to adjust the use of pretrial release conditions based on defendant compliance, court appearance rates, and rates of new arrest among defendants awaiting trial. As the judges saw the successes of removing conditions while maintaining important measures of safety, they became very invested and were eager to participate actively in the initiative. From my perspective, it laid the groundwork for better communication between judges and Pretrial Services.Natalie Michailides
Director, Harris County Pretrial Services Agency
Learn about our Pretrial Initiative Technical Assistance
Since 2020, the GPL’s Pretrial Initiative has provided applied research support and technical assistance to jurisdictions that are working to improve outcomes for individuals awaiting trial, reduce costly and unnecessary pretrial supervision conditions, and use pretrial staff resources more efficiently. In 2024, the GPL expanded our technical assistance to six jurisdictions.
Explore Outcomes from our Pretrial Project in Harris County, TX
See how the GPL’s work in Harris County addressed an influx of pretrial cases by reducing the use of restrictive court conditions for over 2,200 clients during the two-year pilot program.
Initially, the GPL created a feedback loop for County Criminal Court judges. The pilot project that the GPL ran shared data with judges with the intent to adjust the use of pretrial release conditions based on defendant compliance, court appearance rates, and rates of new arrest among defendants awaiting trial. As the judges saw the successes of removing conditions while maintaining important measures of safety, they became very invested and were eager to participate actively in the initiative. From my perspective, it laid the groundwork for better communication between judges and Pretrial Services.Natalie Michailides
