This training series is for judicial officers only.
The Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research (APPR) Pretrial Practitioner Network is pleased to offer a virtual two-part training series on Pretrial Improvement: A View from the Bench. The free sessions will take place on Friday, June 7, and Friday, June 21, 2024, from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET. Space in this training is limited. The deadline to register is Tuesday, May 7.
About the Training
Decisions about pretrial release and detention play a critical role in the delivery of justice. But until recently such decisions have not been the focus of significant attention nationally. That has changed as many jurisdictions have made improvements to their pretrial systems to increase fairness, equity, and community safety and well-being. Judicial officers are central to these efforts and are in a unique position to design, implement, and lead the change process.
This training will equip judicial officers to critically examine their current pretrial release system through the lenses of law, research, and best practices; to identify opportunities for potential improvement; and to educate other policymakers—whether in the courts, bar, or legislature—on these issues. It will focus on the judicial officer’s role, with judges from across the country sharing their experiences, insights, and lessons learned from leading pretrial advancement in their jurisdictions.
Learning Objectives
Participants can expect to do the following by the end of the two sessions:
- Appreciate the significance of pretrial decisions and how they contribute to the overall fairness of our justice system
- Understand the legal foundations of pretrial justice and how these principles should drive change
- Learn from judicial officers about balancing community safety, constitutional rights, and equity in pretrial decision-making
- Enhance your expertise on assessing pretrial release practices and identifying opportunities for improvement
- Learn strategies for making first appearance hearings more meaningful
Training Faculty
The faculty for this session has decades of experience on the bench that includes serving as presiding judges, presiding over initial appearance hearings, leading pretrial improvement efforts in their localities, and providing national technical assistance to jurisdictions seeking to enhance their administration of pretrial justice and educate criminal legal system stakeholders.
The faculty members also participate in our Pretrial Practitioners Network (PPN), whose members include judges, law enforcement representatives, prosecutors, defense lawyers, pretrial services professionals, and court administrators. Members of the PPN contribute to all aspects of APPR’s work and serve as champions of local and national pretrial advancements.
The Honorable Carla J. Baldwin
The Honorable Carla J Baldwin has served as a judge since 2018 in Youngstown, Ohio. She is the Administrative and Presiding Judge of Youngstown Municipal Court, where she also presides over misdemeanor criminal cases, traffic cases, drug court, and bond court. Judge Baldwin serves on several boards and committees, including the Ohio Judicial Council Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees for the Association of Municipal and County Court Judges in Ohio. She serves as an instructor at Kent State University–Trumbull Police Academy. She is also a faculty member for All Rise, the national leader in helping jurisdictions across the country help ensure that substance use and mental health disorders are addressed in treatment courts that promote treatment and recovery for our most vulnerable.
The Honorable Martin Cronin (ret.)
The Honorable Martin Cronin spent more than two decades as a judge on the Superior Court of New Jersey, where he presided over hundreds of adult and juvenile detention hearings and numerous motions for pretrial release based on alleged noncompliance with statutory speedy trial requirements. He served on the Supreme Court’s Joint Committee on Criminal Justice, which recommended systemic reforms in New Jersey’s pretrial system. From 2011 until his retirement in 2022, he served on the Criminal Practice Committee, recommending court rules to implement these ongoing reforms. Judge Cronin is also a guest lecturer at Rutgers Law School.
The Honorable Mark Spitzer
The Honorable Mark Spitzer has served as judge of Grant Circuit Court for 18 years in Grant County, Indiana. As Circuit Court Judge, he presides over Grant County’s Veteran’s Treatment Court and Drug Court. He also serves as chair of Indiana’s Pretrial Release Committee, which guides and administers the state’s innovative certified pretrial program. Under the leadership of Judge Spitzer and his colleagues on the bench, Grant County created Indiana’s first certified Pretrial Release Program, which implements evidence-based pretrial practices for the local felony docket. Under that Program, Judge Spitzer presides weekly over Meaningful First Hearings as part of his criminal docket.
The Honorable Robbin J. Stuckert (ret.)
The Honorable Robbin J. Stuckert served 20 years as a judge in Dekalb County, Illinois, where she served as chief judge and presided over felony cases, problem-solving courts, and bond court. She also chaired the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices and the court’s Implementation Task Force.
The Honorable Bo Zeerip
The Honorable Bo Zeerip has served as a judge for three years in Delta County, Colorado. He presides over all court cases, including criminal, civil, and bond court. Before being appointed to the bench, he served as a prosecutor for 14 years in Mesa County, Colorado, where he served as chief deputy district attorney. He has been involved with many local and statewide committees on best practices in pretrial justice and bail decision-making. He also served on the Pretrial Task Force for the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice and on the standards committee for the most recent edition of pretrial standards from the National Association of Pretrial Service Agencies (NAPSA).
Application Process
If you are interested in attending the training sessions, complete the registration by Tuesday, May 7.
Participation is limited and the training is only for judicial officers. Certificates will be provided for participants to submit to their agencies for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits. Those judicial officers who preside over initial appearance hearings will be given priority registration.
APPR will make selection decisions immediately after the May 7 registration deadline, and confirmed participants will receive additional information about the training, including how to attend the sessions and access related resources.
Please direct any questions to Samuel Steed, operations assistant at the Center for Effective Public Policy, at ssteed@cepp.com.