To better understand lawmaking in response to calls for reform, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice began tracking the introduction of policing-related legislation. This report covers our database tracking policing legislation and our initial findings. By Brandon L. Garrett (2023). Read the report
Focus Area: Fairness in Criminal Outcomes
Debt Sentence: How Fines and Fees Hurt Working Families
Across the United States, courts impose fines as a punishment for minor traffic infractions, municipal code violations, misdemeanors, and felonies. State and local governments then tax people with fees, surcharges, and other costs used to fund the justice system and other government services. This study by the Wilson Center and the Fines and Fees Justice […]
Error Aversions and Due Process
This study examines national surveys sampling more than 12,000 people, finding that a majority of Americans consider false acquittals and false convictions to be errors of equal magnitude. Most people are unwilling to err on the side of letting the guilty go free to avoid convicting the innocent. Indeed, a sizeable minority view false acquittals […]
Monitoring Pretrial Reform In Harris County: Sixth Report Of The Court-Appointed Monitor
Plea Tracking in the Durham County District Attorney’s Office
The Wilson Center and the Durham County District Attorney’s Office conducted a collaborative, data-driven effort to better understand the plea negotiation process. This report describes data on 325 felony cases that were entered into the tracker over 249 business days, from April 12, 2021, to April 12, 2022. This report was prepared by Dr. Kevin Dahaghi, […]
Viral Injustice
This article takes a comprehensive look at the decisional law growing out of COVID-19 detainee litigation and situates the judicial response as part of a comprehensive institutional failure. Brandon L. Garrett & Lee Kovarsky, Viral Injustice, 110 Calif. L. Rev. 117 (2022). Read the article
Juvenile Life Without Parole
A fact sheet on Juvenile Life Without Parole in North Carolina. See the fact sheet
Life Without Parole in North Carolina
A fact sheet on Life Without Parole in North Carolina. See the fact sheet
Court Date Reminders Reduce Court Nonappearance: A Meta-Analysis
This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that examined whether providing people with a postcard, phone call, or text message reminder of their court date reduces their likelihood of failing to appear in court. By: Samantha A. Zottola, William E. Crozier, Deniz Ariturk, and Sarah L. Desmarais — Criminology and Public Policy (2022). Read […]
Plea Tracking in the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office: Part Two
The Wilson Center began a collaboration with the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office in 2020 to study the plea-bargaining process and plea outcomes in Berkshire, Massachusetts. This report reflects one year of data collection, from April 1, 2021, through April 30, 2022 (2022). Read the report