What's Happening in Pretrial Justice? June 2025

Illinois Does It Again! Building upon the success of the Pretrial Fairness Act, a coalition of communities across Illinois has helped pass the Funded Advocacy & Independent Representation Act (FAIR) (HB3363). This legislation will address the state’s public defense crisis by establishing a commission in 2026 that will be responsible for creating a statewide public defender office in 2027. The Office of the State Public Defender will set standards for caseloads, training and resources; distribute funds to county offices; and gather and share data.

Oklahoma Ends Many Justice Fees, But Cash Bail Persists. Our friends at the Fines and Fees Justice Center report that Governor Kevin Stitt has delivered on his promise to end fees in the state’s criminal justice system. Thanks to the work of a broad coalition including business, religious and justice organizations, Oklahoma is ending electronic monitoring fees, the fee to be paid to be declared indigent, and a district attorney fee. Oklahoma still needs to tackle the use of for-profit bail bonds, though. A new report from The Bail Project found that in Tulsa County, nearly half of pretrial release was gained through commercial bail bonds, and that people using alternate means of pretrial release had to wait longer and were punished more often for failure to appear.

Texas Ends Legislative Session with Mixed Bag. Last month, we told you that Texas was looking at a number of bills that would send pretrial progress backwards. Here’s where we ended up: SB9, which would expand the use of cash bail, is awaiting a signature from the governor. Two bills which would have automatically denied bail to non-citizens (SJR1) and people on pretrial release or people with certain prior offenses (SJR87) were DEFEATED. Thanks to the work of advocates, due process protections such as access to counsel at bail hearings, a “clear and convincing” standard of evidence for detention, and a distinction between willful nonappearance and missed court dates were added to SJR 5. SJR 5 still has problems, but voters get one more chance to express their concerns; as a proposed amendment to the state constitution, voters must approve the resolution in November.

Mental Health Needs and Misdemeanors. The Sozosei Virtual Book Club and its grantee partner, Tradeoffs, brought together the authors of the book, Entangled: How People With Serious Mental Illness Get Caught in Misdemeanor Systems, to discuss their study of how systemic failures cause people with mental health needs to get more deeply caught in the criminal legal system. If you missed the live discussion, you can watch the recording here.

New Study Questions Effectiveness of Pretrial Drug Testing. A new study from George Mason University—the first to evaluate pretrial drug testing since 1992—calls into question the effectiveness of drug testing on advancing the goals of pretrial supervision. Pretrial drug testing requirements had a detrimental effect on new arrests, new drug arrests and any kind of pretrial failure. Researchers suggest that drug testing might operate better as a monitoring strategy and conversation piece, rather than a deterrent. Please contact us at pji@pretrial.org for more information.

Community Safety for the 21st Century. Violent crime rates are at a historic low, thanks to greater investments in community safety programs and greater educational and employment opportunities. How can states sustain these improvements, particularly in the face of federal cuts to programs supporting violence prevention and victim services? A new report from the Brookings Institution presents five strategies that can be integrated across state governments in order to implement evidence-based practices.

A Comprehensive Look at Court Reminders. Once more for the folks in the back - court reminders have repeatedly been shown to improve court appearance. Idea42’s Improving Court Attendance: The Essential Guide to Court Reminder Programs, walks jurisdictions through the fundamentals of setting up a successful program, from enrollment to infrastructure, to the language of an effective message. Check it out!

The Financial Toll of Mass Incarceration on Families. The cost of mass incarceration is often calculated according to the costs of jails and prisons. In a new report, FWD.us, working with researchers at Duke and the University of Chicago, has revealed that having an incarcerated loved one costs families almost $350 billion every year, for costs ranging from bail, lost income, direct payments to prisons and jails (commissary and phones), and visitation.

An Accounting of Problems in DC Jail. A new report by the Council for Court Excellence reveals a host of problems at the jail. The rate of deaths in the jail is three times the national average for jails, the average stay at the jail is more than double the average stay at similarly-sized jails nationwide (93 days vs. 39 days) and the rate of overdose deaths is ten times the national average. In addition to these issues, the jail fails to maintain clean and safe conditions, and fails to control parasites, vermin and mold. DC got rid of its cash bail system in the 1990s, but as we’ve seen before, a system without a liberatory mindset will always have problems.

Voluntary Pretrial Support Program Shows Positive Results. A partnership between the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland (UUCC) and the Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office is showing that voluntary support to people navigating the pretrial process is yielding great results. Work by UUCC volunteers in the form of supports like transportation, temporary housing, groceries, court reminders and assistance with warrants produced excellent court appearance rates (96%) and no arrests during the pretrial period. Local and voluntary? We love it!

PJI Alum Dr. Zaria Davis Opens Center for Healing, Restoration and Justice. We were so excited to see that PJI alum Dr. Zaria Davis has launched a new practice focusing on interfaith healing and restorative justice. Her center offers self-care/wellness planning, healing circles and team facilitation. Good luck, Dr. Z!

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