Listening to Impacted Communities: Insights to Inform Virginia’s Pretrial System

• In Event: Early and Continuous Access to Counsel to Improve the Quality of Justice in Virginia

Abstract

The Early and Continuous Access to Counsel (ECAC) project has sought to enlist the stories and experiences of those directly impacted by Virginia’s criminal legal system. A critical component of the ECAC Project was a regional listening tour to hear from those with prior system involvement, ensuring the Project’s work is responsive to the needs and concerns of the community that it seeks to help. These shared stories and experiences about the impact of pretrial detention, the pretrial process, and supervision (if applicable) will help in developing and highlighting humanizing narratives around the adverse impacts of pretrial detention and the need for early and meaningful engagement of counsel. These listening sessions will continue to inform the education and advocacy resources developed by the projects’ community partners, which are under the banner of the Virginia Pretrial Justice Coalition (VPJC). Established in 2018, the VPJC includes representatives of 20+ state, local, and national organizations unified in their commitment to advance meaningful pretrial reforms in Virginia. The Coalition is a leading voice for pretrial reform efforts in the state, successfully advancing legislation for pretrial data collection and ending Virginia’s presumptions against bail. This presentation showcases shared stories and experiences learned from this component.

Authors

• Monica Reid, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

• Bonnie Hoffman, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers