PRETRIAL JUSTICE TASK FORCE REPORT COVER PAGE 1 TASK FORCE MEMBERS Karen Arnold‐Burger, Task Force Chair Chief Judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals Brenda Stoss, Municipal Judge Justin Barrett, Criminal Defense Attorney Salina Municipal Court1 Barrett Law Firm Salina Colby Mary Mattivi, District Court Judge David Harger, Criminal Defense Attorney 3rd Judicial District Wise & Reber, LC Shawnee County McPherson Jared Johnson, District Court Judge Sal Intagliata, Criminal Defense Attorney 28th Judicial District Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered Saline and Ottawa Counties Wichita Wendel Wurst, District Court Judge Charles Branson 25th Judicial District Douglas County District Attorney Finney, Kearny, Scott, Hamilton, Wichita, and Lawrence Greeley Counties Lori Bolton Fleming, District Court Judge Thomas J. Drees 11th Judicial District Ellis County Attorney Crawford, Labette, and Cherokee Counties Hays Keith Collett, District Magistrate Judge Todd Thompson 8th Judicial District Leavenworth County Attorney Dickinson, Marion, Geary, and Morris Leavenworth Counties Robert Sullivan, Director Nancy Dixon Johnson County Community Corrections Judicial Administrator, Kansas Judicial Branch Olathe Topeka Anita Peterson District Court Administrator, 29th Judicial District Kansas City 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to the following who made presentations to the Task Force: Trey Burton, U.S. Probation Office, District of Kansas Jeff Clayton, Executive Director, American Bail Coalition Jessica Domme, Assistant Attorney General, Kansas Jeffrey Easter, Sheriff, Sedgwick County Prof. Jeffrey Jackson, Washburn Law School Dr. Edward Latessa, Director of the School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati Kurt Level, Deputy General Counsel, Koch Industries Rep. Stephen Owens, 74th District and Owner, Owens Bonding Company Kirk Redmond, Federal Public Defender Shane Rolf, Executive Vice‐President, Kansas Bail Agents Association Monica Roth, Public Policy Specialist, Koch Industries. Timothy R. Schnacke, Executive Director of the Center for Legal and Evidence‐Based Practices Zal Schroff, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Kansas Greg Smith, Special Deputy for Government Affairs, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Austin Spillar, Policy Associate, ACLU of Kansas Sara Veldez Hoffer, U.S. Probation Office, District of Kansas Amber Widgerly, Senior Policy Specialist, National Conference of State Legislatures Calvin Williams, retired attorney and owner, Cal‐Kan Bail Bonds We are grateful for the help of several Washburn Law School students who conducted independent research on selected topics under the tutelage of Prof. Jeffrey Jackson: Kerry Clark, 1st Year Atticus Disney, 3rd Year Stephanie Plaschka, 3rd Year Sarah Pride, 2nd Year Taylon Sumners, 2nd Year Charlie Waddle, 2nd Year Likewise, we are appreciative of the University of Kansas Law School students, who, under the direction of Abby Schieber, Research Attorney III, Kansas Court of Appeals, cite checked, and challenged our conclusions. Karen Fritts, 3rd Year Emily Reed, 3rd Year 3 We also had staff members at the Kansas Court of Appeals assist with research and notetaking during meetings, as well as proofreading and preparation for publication. Thank you to John Houston, Staff Attorney, Office of Judicial Administration Lisa Taylor, Public Information Director, Office of Judicial Administration Dani Esquivel, Research Attorney I, chambers of Chief Judge Karen Arnold‐Burger Cody Robinett, Research Attorney II, chambers of Chief Judge Karen Arnold‐Burger Trish Heim, Judicial Executive Assistant, chambers of Judge Melissa Taylor Standridge Kyrsten Brundgardt, Judicial Executive Assistant, chambers of Judge Kathryn Gardner And special thanks to several members of our stakeholder groups who either met with members of the Task Force or submitted comments in writing to the Task Force to help expand our understanding of issues related to pretrial justice in Kansas. These diverse and concerned Kansans responded to every email and request for information and were not shy about bringing concerns to our attention: Tom Bath, Criminal Defense Attorney, Bath and Edmonds, Overland Park Jennifer Baysinger, VP Political Affairs, Kansas Chamber of Commerce Doug Bedford, Undersheriff, Johnson County Marc Bennett, 18th Judicial District, District Attorney, Sedgwick County B.J. Brannon, Vice‐President, Pittsburg State University Campus Democrats Melody Brannon, Federal Public Defender, District of Kansas Heather Cessna, Executive Director, Board of Indigent Services Kenya Cox, Board Member, NAACP Kansas Allie Dickinson, Criminal Justice Coordinator, Johnson County Mark Dupree, 29th Judicial District, District Attorney, Wyandotte County Chris Esquibel, President, Kansas Association of Court Services Officers Mike Fonkert, Advocate, Kansas Appleseed Prof. John Francis, Washburn Law School Jeff Glendening, Kansas State Director, Americans for Prosperity Joyce Grover, Executive Director, Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Sen. David Haley, 4th District, Wyandotte County Cal Hayden, Sheriff, Johnson County Jay Hall, General Counsel, Kansas Association of Counties Stu Hite, Director, Kansas Peace Officers Association Dr. Alexander Holsinger, Associate Dean and Professor, University of Missouri‐Kansas City Silas Horst, Public Policy Manager, Koch Industries Steve Howe, 10th Judicial District, District Attorney, Johnson County Tony Jaramillo, Deputy Director, League of United Latin American Citizens Chief Mike Keller, President, Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police Ed Klumpp, Legislative Liaison for the Kansas Sheriff's Association 4 Kirsten Kuhn, Douglas County Chair, Libertarian Party of Kansas Patrick Lewis, Executive Director, Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Stuart Little, Lobbyist, Kansas Community Corrections Association Kathleen Marker, CEO, YWCA‐NE Kansas Michelle McCormick, Director, Center for Safety and Empowerment, YWCA‐NE Kansas Sarah Mays, Chief Court Services Officer, Shawnee County Melody Miller, Board Member, Kansas Urban League Damon Mitchell, 29th Judicial District, Deputy District Attorney, Wyandotte County Ellen Mitchell, County Attorney, Saline County Mike Milton, Site Manger, The Bail Project, St. Louis Judge Kevin O’Connor, 18th Judicial District Judge, Sedgwick County Lannie Ornburn, 10th Judicial District, Assistant District Attorney, Johnson County Elizabeth Patton, Deputy State Director, Americans for Prosperity Geri Reece, President, Kansas Correctional Association Madai Rivera, Director, League of United Latin American Citizens Monica Roth, Public Policy Specialist, Koch Industries Amanda Stanley, Legal Director, Kansas League of Municipalities Ann E. Swegle, 18th Judicial District, Deputy District Attorney, Sedgwick County Retired District Judge Steve Tatum, 10th Judicial District, Johnson County Magistrate Judge Daniel Vokins, 10th Judicial District, Johnson County 5 CREATION OF THE AD HOC PRETRIAL JUSTICE TASK FORCE Supreme Court Charge Due to several high‐profile incidents, television exposés, national surveys, and lawsuits around the country successfully challenging pretrial release as a wealth‐based discriminatory practice, the issue of pretrial release has come to the forefront of national attention. Of primary concern are individuals detained in jail due solely to the lack of resources to post money bond as a condition of release. In 2013, the Conference of Chief Justices adopted a resolution endorsing the 2012 Policy Paper on Evidence‐Based Pretrial Release published by the Conference of State Court Administrators. The resolution urged court leaders to: [P]romote, collaborate, and accomplish the adoption of evidence‐based assessment of risk in setting pretrial release conditions and advocate for the presumptive use of non‐financial release conditions to the greatest degree consistent with evidence‐based assessment of flight risk and threat to public safety and to victims of crimes.2 The Kansas Supreme Court entered an Order on November 7, 2018, creating the Ad Hoc Pretrial Justice Task Force ("Task Force").3 The Task Force was charged by the Court to review Kansas pretrial detention policies and procedures. The Court also reminded the Task Force to remember the importance of the constitutional presumption of innocence as well as the impact of pretrial detention on both the accused and the community. The Court also reaffirmed its commitment to the belief that no person should be deprived of liberty unnecessarily or unconstitutionally. The Court specifically asked the Task Force to: 1. Examine current pretrial detention practices for criminal defendants in the Kansas district courts. 2. Examine methods, other than pretrial detention, currently used in Kansas district courts to ensure public safety and encourage the accused's appearances at court proceedings. 3. Compare effective pretrial detention practices and detention alternatives identified by other courts with those currently used in Kansas and use these comparisons to help develop a best practices model for Kansas district courts. 4. Identify any statutory impediments to implementation of any Task Force recommendation. 6 5. Identify any issues that may require further research, data compilation, or both, before a recommendation can be made to the Court. 6. Identify and prioritize topics that the Office of Judicial Administration can include in training trial court judges in Kansas on best practices for pretrial detention procedures, policies, and alternatives to pretrial detention. The Task Force was