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Daily Archives: March 23, 2017

Bail Reform: New Directions for Pretrial Detention and Release

Stevenson, Megan and Mayson, Sandra G., Bail Reform: New Directions for Pretrial Detention and Release (March 13, 2017). In Academy for Justice, A Report on Scholarship and Criminal Justice Reform (Erik Luna ed., 2017, Forthcoming).; U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 17-18. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2939273

“Our current pretrial system imposes high costs on both the people who are detained pretrial and the taxpayers who foot the bill. These costs have prompted a surge of bail reform around the country. Reformers seek to reduce pretrial detention rates, as well as racial and socioeconomic disparities in the pretrial system, while simultaneously improving appearance rates and reducing pretrial crime. The current state of pretrial practice suggests that there is ample room for improvement. Bail hearings are often cursory, with no defense counsel present. Money-bail practices lead to high rates of detention even among misdemeanor defendants and those who pose no serious risk of crime or flight. Infrequent evaluation means that the judges and magistrates who set bail have little information about how their bail-setting practices affect detention, appearance and crime rates. Practical and low-cost interventions, such as court reminder systems, are underutilized. To promote lasting reform, this chapter identifies pretrial strategies that are both within the state’s authority and supported by empirical research. These interventions should be designed with input from stakeholders, and carefully evaluated to ensure that the desired improvements are achieved.”

Sentieo Trump Tracker: Follow The President’s Impact on Your Investment

Senteio Blog: “Today, we are excited to introduce the Trump Tracker. It’s a bot that constantly scans new public financial documents for mentions of President Trump. These documents include all SEC filings, conference call transcripts, investor presentations, press releases, and more. The bot instantly surfaces new mentions of Trump as soon as they’re published, while… Continue Reading

How WSJ visualized 500+ conflicts of interest of The Trumps

Storybemch explainer: “The Wall Street Journal recently published an interactive graphic showing the Trump family’s more than 500 potential conflicts of interest. In it, a galaxy of dots and lines show the complicated relationships between Trump, his children and a complex network of business holdings. Storybench spoke with Joel Eastwood, the reporter, and Julia Wolfe, the graphic designer,… Continue Reading

H.R. 1628, American Health Care Act, incorporating manager’s amendments 4, 5, 24, and 25

Follow up to previous postings pertaining to the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, today’s revised cost estimate remains grim: “CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have prepared an estimate of the direct spending and revenue effects of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act, as posted on… Continue Reading

Social Media Info Guide to Tumblr

The Social Media Information Blog Investigator’s Guide to Tumblr – “Founded in 2007,  Tumblr is a microblogging and social networking website. The platform, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2013, allows users to share text, images, quotes, links, video, audio, and chats. Tumblr’s appeal is that it allows users to be creative and build independent… Continue Reading

Using data and design to compare corruption and transparency across 50 U.S. states

Storybench article: “With Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks happening this week, questions of conflicts of interest and financial disclosure are top of mind. Northeastern University journalism professors John Wihbey and Mike Beaudet, along with Information Design and Visualization professor Pedro Cruz and graduate student Irene de la Torre Arenas, recently published an… Continue Reading

Brookings – Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century

“The states with the highest mortality rates from drugs, alcohol and suicide, among white non-Hispanics aged 45-54, are geographically scattered. In 2000, the epidemic was centered in the southwest. By the mid-2000s it had spread to Appalachia, Florida, and the west coast. Today, it’s country-wide. The authors suggest that the increases in deaths of despair… Continue Reading