Posts Tagged ‘reform’

In 2009, Philadelphia took the first steps in reforming a bail system that hadn’t been touched in nearly 15 years. New court rules were issued in an effort to ensure judges were hearing cases “based on merits and not dismissed early because of witness fear and fatigue or gamesmanship by defense lawyers,” according to The Inquirer. This year, the city has begun working on those people who bailed out of jail pending trial and never showed back up, and on outdated bail guidelines. Read the rest of this entry »

A bipartisan work group, the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, was presented with the findings of a five-month analysis, studying ways to make the state safer while simultaneously saving money. The research, completed by the Council of State Governments Justice Center in partnership with the Pew Center on the States and the U.S. Department of Justice, showed that the state could save about $351 million and reinvest $88 million into public safety over a 5 year period. Read the rest of this entry »