The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) recently
released a report,
Pandemic Policymaking and Changed Outcomes in Criminal
Courts, which chronicles how the COVID-19 pandemic affected
courts in 2020, describes policy responses, and assesses the
impact of remote hearing policies on conviction and sentencing
outcomes within six months of arrest.
Key takeaways from the report include:
Pandemic conditions challenged the courts’ capacity to resolve
cases. For example, an estimated 55,000 criminal cases that would
have been completed within six months remained unresolved at the
end of 2020.
To adapt to pandemic conditions, courts acted swiftly by
utilizing three main strategies including modifying pretrial
release to reduce jail populations, permitting remote hearings,
and extending case timelines.
Uneven adoption of policies, paired with geographic differences
in where people live, meant that Black and Latino defendants had
greater potential than individuals of other races to experience
pandemic policies.
Remote hearing policies reinforced pandemic trends for lower
conviction rates, but counteracted trends in sentencing. When
remote hearing policies were in place, rates of conviction within
six months of arrest fell, with outcomes for white, Latino, and
Black individuals driving this result. Misdemeanor convictions
were less likely to lead to incarceration in local detention
facilities and more likely to receive noncustodial sentences such
as probation and monetary sanctions, mainly for white, Latino,
and Black individuals. Felony convictions were less likely to
result in incarceration in state detention facilities and more
likely to lead to incarceration in local detention facilities,
and outcomes for Black individuals dominated this result.
Remote hearing policies contributed to racial differences in
criminal case outcomes. Inequity in conviction and detention
facility sentence rates narrowed between white and Latino
defendants and between white and Black defendants. By contrast,
racial inequity widened in the likelihood of being sentenced to
monetary sanctions and probation.
Debatably, whether a criminal proceeding is conducted virtually
or in person should not influence whether a person is convicted
or how they are sentenced; yet according to the PPIC report,
remote hearing policies have affected both. The report can be
read in its entirety
here.
