ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A new study of the Lehigh Valley’s courts found that defendants held in prison before trial often get heavier sentencing.
Researchers with the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute said the study examined sentencing records from 2017 to 2021 for Lehigh and Northampton County’s local courts.
It's the first study of its kind examining the effects of pretrial detention in local-level courts, an LVJI representative wrote in a statement this month.
It found that a defendant held in jail while his or her case proceeds is less likely to get a shorter sentence than standard, less likely to get a non-prison punishment, and more likely to get a longer sentence than standard.
“When these defendants spent one day — just one day — in pretrial detention, that number drops to 12 percent. One day in pretrial detention was enough to significantly affect the odds that they receive probation instead of incarceration.”Victoria Wrigley, one of the study’s authors
Victoria Wrigley, one of the study’s authors, said it found that 53% of people who spent no time in pretrial detention did not receive the standard sentence of jail time.
“When these defendants spent one day — just one day — in pretrial detention, that number drops to 12 percent,” she said.
“One day in pretrial detention was enough to significantly affect the odds that they receive probation instead of incarceration.”
Guidelines and judges' decisions
Every crime on Pennsylvania’s books comes with a recommended sentence based on the severity of the offense and the defendant’s criminal record.
However, they're only recommendations, and judges have broad discretion to assign penalties as they see fit within maximum and minimum sentences imposed by law.
Wrigley and study co-author Tre Schumacher looked at whether the number of days a defendant spent in prison awaiting trial tracked with whether a judge imposed a different sentence than the guidelines call for.
They found that spending more time in pretrial detention was associated with lower odds of getting a lighter-than-standard sentence and greater odds of receiving a longer-than-standard sentence.
Black defendants in particular, the study found, were 12% less likely to receive a non-prison sentence than their white counterparts for every 2.7-fold increase in detention time.Lehigh Valley Justice Institute said the study examined sentencing records
A 2.7-fold increase in time spent in pretrial detention was associated with a 15% reduction in the odds of a non-prison sentence, an 8% reduction in the odds of a shorter-than-standard sentence, and an 11% increase in the odds of a longer-than standard sentence, they wrote in a paper published this month in the journal Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law and Society.
Black defendants in particular, the study found, were 12% less likely to receive a non-prison sentence than their white counterparts for every 2.7-fold increase in detention time.
The study did not find evidence “to suggest that race influences the decision to depart” from sentencing guidelines, according to the paper.
‘A fundamental unfairness’
Wrigley said being detained ahead of trial can put the defendant at a disadvantage by making them seem more deserving of punishment in the eyes of a judge.
“Just that act of being detained, and that being on the record, can kind of create an appearance, almost, that this individual belongs in jail,” Wrigley said.
“That's what some of the prior research has suggested.”
“The purpose of bail is to set someone free." In cases where a defendant poses a concern, “The judge has the ability to deny bail, rather than set it so high that they can't afford it.”Victoria Wrigley, one of the study’s authors
She said that 98% of the people detained before trial in the records they reviewed were held because they did not have the resources to post bail — meaning a judge thought they were suitable for release, Wrigley said.
“The purpose of bail is to set someone free,” she said. In cases where a defendant poses a concern, “The judge has the ability to deny bail, rather than set it so high that they can't afford it.”
Incoming Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta, who was a county court judge from 1998 to 2022, throughout this year’s campaign for the office was critical of cash bail for most low-level offenses.
Baratta said the study's finding that 98% of defendants in the examined cases held before trial were detained because they could not afford their bail speaks to the inequality that comes with cash bail as a system.
“Some people for low-level crimes will get out on bail," Baratta said.
"Other people will be given cash bail, maybe only $5,000 or $10,000. Even though it doesn't seem like a high bail, for people that don't have the economic means it is a very high bail.
“It's a fundamental unfairness of our system.”
Longer than the standard-range sentence
Baratta suggested that the link between pretrial detention and departures from sentencing guidelines was not surprising because judges often sentence defendants held in pretrial detention to time served.
By the time they are sentenced, he said, they have often been detained for longer than the standard-range sentence.
“It’s just sort of luck of the draw."Incoming Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta
In response, Wrigley wrote in an email Wednesday that the data set she and Schumacher used includes whether a defendant was sentenced to time served, allowing the researchers to determine whether it was a factor in sentencing.
Baratta said judges generally rely on the recommendation from the court’s Pretrial Services department, which investigates factors such as someone’s employment history, criminal record, and family relationships to evaluate whether they will show up to court.
“When Pretrial Services recommends a bail, the court generally just accepts that recommendation,” he said.
However, attitudes toward bail vary among magisterial district judges and their county court counterparts, Baratta said.
“It’s just sort of luck of the draw,” he said.
