Pretrial Detention Choices and Federal Sentencing

The authors describe the effects of pretrial release and detention on sentencing decisions in the U.S. federal courts, beginning with a description of extant research on the sentencing consequences of pretrial detention, drawn mostly from city and state courts. They note current trends in federal detention data, describe current research on the sentencing consequences of pretrial detention and the revocation of pretrial services supervision, and discuss implications of these findings for decision makers within the federal justice system.