Pretrial Release of Latino Defendants

This project will examine variation in influence of Latino/Hispanic origin on pretrial release status and bail set, as a function of Latino/Hispanic population trends in 40 of the Nation's most populous counties. Public archive data from the following resources will be used to study the impact of county-level factors, in addition to offender characteristics and legal variables, on pretrial release decisions for the period 1990-2002:
o State Court Processing Statistics: Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties;
o National Prosecutor Survey;
o Annual Survey of Jails: Jurisdiction Level; and,
o U.S. Department of Census. nca/ncf