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Youngstown Muni Court starts pretrial services program
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 21, 2019
As efforts to move away from a cash-based bail system continue to gain momentum across the country, Youngstown Municipal Court officials recently unveiled the first pretrial services program in Mahoning County.
Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Carla Baldwin launched the program on Jan. 1 after working closely with the private nonprofit agency Community Corrections Association Inc. and Youngstown Municipal Court Chief of Probation David Magura for several months to implement a plan to establish an effective pretrial services department.
The program relies on a risk assessment survey to assist the judges in making informed bail decisions, including determining whether a defendant’s pretrial release would pose a threat to the community and calculating the probability that the person will show up for scheduled court appearances, in an effort to reduce the incarceration of low-risk offenders.
“Too many people are incarcerated simply because they are poor,” said Judge Baldwin. “When we detain a defendant who cannot make bail, we are putting the person’s employment and housing at risk, which is not doing a lot of good in the long run.
“We need to be smarter about how we determine bail and become more people-centered,” she said. “Studies have shown that using risk assessment tools is a more reliable way to ensure the defendant will appear in court and maintain the safety of the community.
“Our cash bail system has not evolved to effectively address the challenges that our pretrial services department solves.”
A number of courts in Ohio already have departments and programs that assist judges in making pretrial release and detention decisions.
Although the Youngstown Municipal Court pretrial services program officially got underway at the beginning of the year, Magura said discussions about implementing bail reform in the county date back to 2007.
“Our court began moving forward with the pretrial services program when Judge Baldwin took the bench,” he said. “Judge Baldwin is a progressive thinker and we needed her vision to get the ball rolling.”
He said under the previous system the prosecutor would make a recommendation to the judge about whether to release a defendant based on the person’s criminal record and the offense.
“The new system uses assessment tools to measure the risk and then manage that risk,” said Magura.
The process works as follows: Arrestees booked into the Mahoning County Justice Center who are scheduled to be arraigned for misdemeanors or low-level felonies are given the chance to meet with a pretrial officer and complete a voluntary assessment, which includes an offender self-report survey and an interview with a pretrial officer.
“The offender answers 140 questions, which produces a risk score,” said Magura. “Once we receive the score, we do a thorough criminal record check, followed by a Responsivity Assessment.”
The Responsivity Assessment seeks to identify whether the defendant has risk factors, such as substance abuse or mental health disorders, which could make the person less likely to appear in court.
Once all the information is gathered the pretrial officer completes a recommendation report, which is distributed to the judge and prosecuting attorney prior to the start of the arraignment.
“The report will include the offender’s risk level score, employment status, criminal history, prior military experience, substance abuse, mental health history and history of failure to appear bench warrants,” said Magura.
Although the prosecutor does have the right to object to pretrial release, the judge ultimately makes the final decision.
If release is ordered, a pretrial officer will meet with the defendant to discuss the specific conditions, i.e., electronically monitored house arrest, alcohol monitoring and/or employment counseling. In addition, the defendant is given reporting instructions and receives any needed referrals to outside treatment providers and agencies.
“The pretrial officer serves as the defendant’s parole officer and will monitor the defendant, with the frequency of the monitoring determined by the defendant’s risk score,” said Magura.
“The main difference between the old system and the new program is that now we are getting involved in the defendant’s case from day one and working with the person to address the reasons behind the offense.”
Magura said under the previous system indigent defendants spent on average 30 to 40 days in jail prior to trial, while today they are incarcerated for about 2.3 days.
Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Renee DiSalvo said the pretrial release program has been invaluable.
“It is helping us identify individuals who need special services before their hearings actually happen,” said Judge DiSalvo. “Pretrial Services include tools to identify offenders who may be veterans, human trafficking victims or others with mental health issues, all of which could benefit from our specialty courts and pilot programs.
“Working with offenders right from the beginning provides the offender and the court with major advantages down the road.”