RECOMMENDED FOR RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE - FACTORS AFFECTING PRETRIAL RELEASE RECOMMENDATIONS

Researchers have acknowledged the influence of pretrial release agencies in judicial decision making regarding bail; however, few researchers have focused on the process used by the pretrial release agencies to make bail-bond recommendations. In this study I sought to establish which factors were most salient in making the decision to recommend a defendant for release on recognizance. I found that both officially sanctioned release criteria and ''extralegal'' variables were predictive of this decision.