Examining the Impact of Expedited Case Processing on Sentencing Outcomes and Recidivism

• In Event: Pretrial Processing and the Right to Bail

Abstract

There are many potential benefits of expedited case processing for our criminal court systems in the U.S., including a reduction in court backlogs, fewer instances of pretrial misconduct, decreasing the length of stay for pretrial detainees, and saving valuable time and resources of the criminal justice system. As a result, many courts have implemented policies and programs aimed at expediting case processing for criminal cases. However, there have been few research studies that have examined how this expedited case processing impacts a variety of case outcomes and recidivism rates. In this article, an expedited case processing program implemented in the Superior Courts in Spokane County, WA was examined to determine the impact of shorter case disposition times on sentencing outcomes and recidivism rates for selected felonies and misdemeanors. Propensity score matching was used to compare cases processed through the expedited case processing program to similarly-situated cases disposed of through the traditional court process prior to the implementation of the program. The findings of the study provide important insights about the impact of expedited case processing on the quality of justice being produced by our criminal court systems.

Author

• Lauren M. Block, University of Nevada, Reno