Research Report
June 16, 2025
Changing the Initial Appearance Process: Findings from Three Sites
Across three SJC sites—Cook County, Illinois; Multnomah County, Oregon, and; Lucas County, Ohio—local defense agencies do appear at initial appearance and have led programs which systematically enhance due process for individuals at initial appearances. They have provided access to defense attorneys nearly immediately after jail booking, collected more information about the person prior to their initial appearance, and provided representation at initial appearances. By doing so, defense attorneys can make more informed and convincing release arguments to secure the fastest, least expensive, least restrictive pretrial release possible. While courts across the country have rarely considered initial appearances a critical stage in case processing, these three SJC sites are treating these hearings as a meaningful and critical stage regardless of its legal designation as such.
By studying these defense attorney-led strategies, we can begin to understand how these strategies may increase the least restrictive pretrial release possible, enhance due process, reduce racial and ethnic disparities among pretrial release outcomes, and limit the punishing and harmful effects of pretrial detention.
