Overview of Federal Pretrial Services Initiatives from the Vantage Point of the Criminal Law Committee

The Criminal Law Committee of the Judicial Conference reviews issues relating to the administration of the criminal law and oversees the federal probation and pretrial services system. The author provides an overview of federal pretrial services initiatives from the vantage point of the Criminal Law Committee, including pretrial diversion programs, judge-involved supervision programs modeled after problem-solving courts, the use of data-driven strategies to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention, and proposed legislation regarding the statutory presumption of detention.