NCJ Number: 205518
Title: Trends in Felony Case Processing in the 1990s
Author(s): Marian J. Gewirtz
Date Published: December 2000
Annotation: This report addresses trends in the characteristics of defendants
in felony cases as well as their processing in the New York City
criminal justice system in the 1990's.
Abstract: The datasets used for this study included approximately 2,000
docketed felony arrests selected from particular days in May of
each sample year in the 4 largest New York City counties. The
study assessed trends in arrest, arraignment and disposition, the
Criminal Justice Agency (CJA) community ties rating, criminal
history, arraignment outcomes (both disposition and release status), criminal and supreme court dispositions, and two measures of pretrial misconduct (i.e., failure to appear in court as scheduled and rearrest). The study found that trends in felony case processing in New York City in the 1990's involved decreased volume and a shift in arrest charges. Felony arrest charges were increasingly likely to be reduced to less than felony affidavit charges; however, disposition rates at arraignment did not change. By the end of the 1990's, defendants in felony arrests
were older, and they had more prior felony and misdemeanor convictions. Recommendations for release on recognizance based on community ties increased, and release rates at arraignment decreased and then increased. Bail amounts were higher. The proportion of defendants given pretrial release increased for defendants who were eventually released on recognizance and decreased for those who eventually posted bail. Fewer felony
arrests were prosecuted in the upper court in 1998 than in
previous years; and fewer cases were left open, continued, or
with open bench warrants. Conviction rates among cases disposed varied little by year. The proportion of convicted defendants
sentenced to prison decreased through the 1990's while the
proportion sentenced to a conditional discharge increased. Among those given a prison sentence, nearly one-third in the 1998 sample were sentenced to "time served," a higher proportion than
in any previous year. Pretrial failure-to-appear rates declined.
37 tables
Main Term(s): Court statistics
Index Term(s): Arrest statistics; Court research; Dispositions; Felony; New York; Pretrial procedures; Pretrial release; Sentencing/Sanctions
Sponsoring Agency: New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc
Corporate Author: New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc
Sale Source: New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc
Publisher: http://www.nycja.org/research/research.htm
Page Count: 39
Format: Document
Type: Report (Study/Research)
Language: English
Country: United States of America
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=205518
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