Findings from Designing and Implementing an Initial Appearance Court in Clark County, Nevada

• In Event: Issues and Challenges in Reducing Jail Populations: Lessons Learned from the Safety and Justice Challenge

Abstract

An initial appearance in court is a defendant’s first chance to learn about their constitutional protections when charged with a crime, contest the criminal charges, and advocate for their pretrial release. Without a timely initial appearance, a person can spend weeks in jail while awaiting release. Meanwhile they may lose their employment, housing, or family. Under the Safety and Justice Challenge, Clark County launched the Initial Appearance Court (IAC) to ensure that someone arrested for an alleged offense is seen by a judge within 12 to 24 hours of arrest to determine probable cause, custody status, and release conditions. Offenses eligible for the IAC include alleged felonies, misdemeanor battery domestic violence, and driving under the influence (2nd offense). This paper presents findings on the design and implementation, overall successes, challenges, and perceived impact of Clark County’s IAC. Findings are based on qualitative interviews with key SJC strategy and IAC stakeholders, analysis of jail population trends data, and a review of IAC and SJC strategy documents. This paper provides lessons learned for jurisdictions who are interested in implementing similar initial appearance court models to expedite case processing and reduce the pretrial population in local jails.

Authors

• Paige S. Thompson, Urban Institute

• Travis Reginal, Urban Institute