Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) how the federal district courts are implementing the Pretrial Services Act of 1982; (2) the reliability of the pretrial services data being reported by the courts to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; and (3) the initiatives taken to better utilize resources available for performing pretrial services. GAO found that: (1) not all eligible defendants were contacted before bail hearings because most district courts do not have enough staff to fully implement the program; (2) some judicial officers did not support the program; (3) responsible law enforcement agents did not always notify probation or pretrial service officers when there were criminal defendants to be interviewed; (4) pretrial case files generally showed that information reported to the Administrative Office was accurate; and (5) three of the district courts experienced difficulties in reporting pretrial information in a timely manner. GAO also found that initiatives were underway to: (1) develop abbreviated pretrial interview and report forms for selected defendants; (2) test the feasibility of using law and criminal justice students to perform selected pretrial functions; and (3) develop guidelines for pretrial service officers to recommend pretrial supervision to judicial officers.

Federal District Courts' Implementation of the 1982 Pretrial Services Act

Federal District Courts' Implementation of the 1982 Pretrial Services Act