There have been raised concerns regarding the efficaciousness and the legality of the trial and pretrial procedures. The concern arises from records that indicate the presence of approximately half a million individuals in custody awaiting trials in the United States on any given day. There are set proposals on how to improve the pre-trial and trial procedures through various means such as risk assessment tools. This discussion focuses on the changes that should be implemented in the pre-trial procedure to improve the system. In the case of Kalief Browder in 2010, the 16-year-old offender who had committed a grand larceny felony, his bail was set at $3000, an amount his mother was unable to pay. He was detained at Rikers Island Jail which had a culture of deep-seated violence for two years. His case was pending for two years contrary to the law that requires all cases to be ready for trial in six months. From the drawbacks of this case, the law should increase the use of non-cash and non-detention activities by using pretrial alternatives that are less restrictive. The options include monitoring of the released persons through electronic technology or manual supervision. Pretrial detention, according to defendants generates large net costs than the other options which have fewer restrictions but still achieve the objectives of the criminal justice system with lesser costs. Evidence shows that electronic monitoring can effectively reduce pre-trial misconduct (Bales et al., 2010), and pre-trial supervision can increase the number of appearances in court (Lowenkap & VanNostrand, 2013). Non-cash detention activities will reduce the harsh treatment a detainee is exposed to when awaiting trial. In conclusion, the constitution will consider these reforms because a reformed pretrial and trial system has the potential to significantly increase social welfare while putting into consideration the equitable and fair treatment of defendants.
References
Bales, William D., Karen Mann, Thomas Blomberg, Brian McManus, and Karla Dhungana, 2010. Electronic Monitoring in Florida . Journal of offender Monitoring 22: 5-12.
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Lowenkamp, Christopher T., and Marie VanNostrand, 2013. Ex ploring the Impact of Supervision on Pretrial Outcomes . Laura and John Arnold Foundation, New York, NY.
