“Walking on Eggshells”: Analyzing the Impacts of Bench Warrants on Defendants’ Lives

• In Event: Assessing the Impact of Procedural Practices, Social Control, and Economic Sanctions on Marginalized Communities

Abstract

Bench warrants, often issued by municipal and criminal courts following failure to appear, are frequently intended as a strictly procedural tool used to communicate court absence to defendants and re-engage them in court proceedings. However, bench warrants lead to serious consequences, including increased likelihood of law enforcement engagement and additionally imposed financial burdens (i.e. fines and fees). This research explores impacts of bench warrants on the lives of participants in a community-based alternatives to incarceration (ATI) program in one Northeastern U.S. city. Based on a series of semi-structured interviews with bench-warranted defendants (n=11) recruited from the ATI program, inductive and deductive coding were utilized to identify three primary areas wherein bench warrants affected participants. These warrants influenced their attitudes towards courts, negatively impacted daily functioning, and exacerbated existing psychosocial needs while hoping to return to ATI programming. These findings are consistent with quantitative research that examined impact of psychosocial needs on likelihood of becoming warranted. Additional findings include inconsistencies in court communication of bench warrants, and observations of how the research process itself functioned as an intervention. Altogether, these findings serve as a useful tool in formulating and communicating policy recommendations about utilization of bench warrants to key court stakeholders.

Authors

• Conor Mulvaney, Center for Justice Innovation

• Erin Koyle, Center for Justice Innovation

• Sadia Raza, Center for Justice Innovation

• Jeffrey Sharlein, Center for Justice Innovation

• Kicia Sears, Center for Justice Innovation