THE STUDY TESTED THE HYPOTHESES USING: A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 858 DEFENDANTS IN CRIMINAL COURT IN NEW YOUK CITY IN 1971 CONTAINING DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE DEFENDANT'S PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORD AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS, THE CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST THE DEFENDANT, THE VARIOUS COURT PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING THE DEFENDANT, AND THE OUTCOME OF THE CASE. THE FIRST PART OF THE PAPER DESCRIBES THE SAMPLE AND DEFINES THE VARIABLES USED IN THE STUDY. PART TWO CONTAINS AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS DETERMINING THE TERMS ON WHICH A DEFENDANT MAY OBTAIN HIS PRETRIAL LIBERTY. PART THREE, THE MAIN SECTION OF THE PAPER, TESTS WHETHER THE FACTORS DETERMINING PRETRIAL LIBERTY ARE ALSO SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS OF THE AMOUNT OF HARM A DEFENDANT WILL DO IF RELEASED ON BAIL. THE NEXT SECTION FOCUSES ON THE ROLE OF PRETRIAL DETENTION, DELAY, AND OTHER VARIABLES ON THE OUTCOME OF CASES. THE FINAL SECTION SUMMARIZES THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY AND PRESENTS CONCLUDING REMARKS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)...KAP