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Legal Case and Court Management

Research Brief
Diversion Instead of Courts: Improving Outcomes for People Arrested for Low-Level Crimes
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office invested $7.76 million in Project Reset, a program to divert adults arrested for low-level crimes into community-based support programs and out of the court system. Among the key findings were improved arrest outcomes for participants and no increase in rearrests.
May 16, 2023
Report
A Process and Outcome Evaluation of Project Reset
In this report, RAND researchers share results of a process and outcome evaluation of Project Reset, a program that diverts adults arrested for low-level crimes into community-based support programs and out of the court system.
May 16, 2023
Blog
Reflecting on the Pandemic, RAND Turns 75, Labor Trafficking: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, 75 years of influential RAND research, reducing labor trafficking in the United States, and more.
May 12, 2023
News Release
Providing Legal Counsel at Initial Bail Hearings Reduces Use of Cash Bail, Lowers Incarceration
Providing defendants with legal counsel during their initial bail hearing decreases use of monetary bail and pretrial detention, without increasing the likelihood that defendants fail to appear at the subsequent preliminary hearing.
May 5, 2023
Testimony
Evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program
The California County Resentencing Pilot Program was established in 2021 and will run through September 1, 2024. In the program's first year, what were some of the implementation challenges participants faced? And what are some early results from the nine pilot counties' case reviews?
Mar 17, 2023
Report
Rethinking Case Management and the Process of Civil Justice Reform: Summary and Papers Presented at a UCLA-RAND Center for Law and Public Policy Conference
This publication summarizes the discussions and presents four pieces of scholarship presented during the UCLA-RAND Center for Law and Public Policy-sponsored "Rethinking Civil Case Management" conference.
Mar 15, 2023
Report
Evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program: Year 1 Findings
This evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program seeks to determine how the program is implemented in nine pilot counties and what the characteristics are of a possible candidate for resentencing.
Oct 3, 2022
Report
Justice Must Go On: The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Military Court Operations
This Perspective provides a preliminary examination of how the coronavirus 2019 pandemic affected caseloads in the military justice system and how the system adapted its operations. It also offers several recommendations for possible future actions.
Sep 6, 2022
Tool
Empowerment-Based Domestic Violence Programming Within a Family Court Setting: An Implementation Guide
This guide supports the implementation of an empowerment-based domestic violence program within a family court setting. It was developed to share the best practices learned during an evaluation of the Safe Horizon Family Court organization.
Jan 6, 2022
Infographic
Empowering Domestic Violence Survivors Within the Family Courts
This infographic accompanies a tool that supports the implementation of an empowerment-based domestic violence program within a family court setting.
Jan 6, 2022
Research Brief
Black Motorists Face More-Serious Charges for Excessive Speeding Than White Motorists Do
In many states, motorists accused of excessive speeding can face either a criminal misdemeanor or a traffic infraction. Data on speeding violations in Virginia show large racial disparities in who is convicted of a misdemeanor.
Oct 4, 2021
Report
Racial Disparities in Misdemeanor Speeding Convictions
In this report, researchers use data on speeding violations in Virginia to examine whether there are racial disparities in who benefits from the discretion of law enforcement and the courts to discount or downgrade misdemeanor violations.
Oct 4, 2021
Report
COVID-19 and the Courts: Lessons from the Pandemic
The U.S. civil justice system was forced to change in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Panelists in this virtual conference addressed the effects of COVID-19 on the civil justice system and how lessons learned can be applied going forward.
Jun 4, 2021
Report
Provisional Caseload Standards for the Indigent Defense of Adult Criminal and Juvenile Delinquency Cases in Utah: Report for the Utah Indigent Defense Commission
The Utah Indigent Defense Commission asked the RAND Corporation for assistance in determining maximum caseload standards for providers of indigent legal representation in Utah. The authors present data and analysis.
Apr 28, 2021
Tool
Costs of Responding to Crime: Police, Court, and Legal Services
How much taxpayer money is spent on police, courts, and legal services to respond to crime? RAND researchers provide estimated costs by crime type and by state in a new tool that makes it easy to visualize and download the data.
Jul 1, 2020
Report
Countering Drug-Impaired Driving: Addressing the Complexities of Gathering and Presenting Evidence in Drug-Impaired Driving Cases
Driving under the influence of drugs is a serious and growing threat to public safety. Addressing these cases involves identifying impairment and presenting complex evidence in court. A panel of experts identified ways to address this challenge.
May 7, 2020
Report
Court Appearances in Criminal Proceedings Through Telepresence: Identifying Research and Practice Needs to Preserve Fairness While Leveraging New Technology
In 2018, the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative convened a workshop to explore the use of telepresence technology in the courtroom. Participants expressed the need for research-driven utilization to ensure that its full potential is realized.
Jan 20, 2020
Report
Process Evaluation of AssetPlus
A process evaluation of the roll-out of AssetPlus (assessment and planning framework used by youth offending teams) in England and Wales. Practitioners supported the ideas behind AssetPlus but faced challenges with easy use and information-sharing.
Dec 18, 2019
Report
Caseload Standards for Indigent Defenders in Michigan: Final Project Report for the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) asked the RAND Corporation for assistance in determining maximum caseload standards for providers of indigent legal representation to adult defendants in Michigan. The authors present data and analysis.
Aug 26, 2019
Report
Prosecutor Priorities, Challenges, and Solutions
In March 2018, the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative convened an expert panel to identify priority needs and solutions for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the prosecutorial component of the criminal justice system.
Apr 18, 2019

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