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Regular Session, 2014 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 150
BY SENATOR MORRELL
A RESOLUTION
To establish and provide for the Pretrial Service Commission to review the state's pretrial
service laws and policies and to make recommendations for policy and legislative
changes on or before February 1, 2015, that will assist in providing more effective
pretrial decision-making.
WHEREAS, each year twelve million people are booked into jails in the United
States; and
WHEREAS, most criminal defendants have a right to be released prior to trial, with
exceptions made only for those accused of the most serious and dangerous crimes; and
WHEREAS, many defendants stay in jail because they cannot meet the conditions
of release, which often are monetary; and
WHEREAS, courts determine conditions of release based on safety and flight risk,
but usually have little information about the risks defendants pose to guide these pretrial
decisions; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, legislators
in eleven states now provide statewide guidance to judges in pretrial decision-making.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby establish and provide for the Pretrial Service Commission to review the state's
pretrial service laws and policies and to make recommendations for policy and legislative
changes on or before February 1, 2015, that will assist in providing more effective pretrial
decision-making.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Pretrial Service Commission shall consist
of the following members:
(1)The chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, or his designee.
(2)The chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary C, or his designee.
(3)The chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, or his designee. SR NO. 150 ENROLLED
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(4)The chairman of the House Committee on Administration of Criminal
Justice, or his designee.
(5)The chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, or her designee.
(6)One representative appointed by the Louisiana District Attorney's
Association.
(7)One member appointed by the Louisiana Public Defender Board.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall also have the following
ex officio, nonvoting members:
(1)The president of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, or his designee.
(2)The executive director of the Micah Project, or his designee.
(3)The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, or her
designee.
(4)The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Correction
Services, or his designee.
(5)The chairman of the Louisiana Sentencing Commission, or his designee.
(6)The executive director of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, or his designee.
(7)The executive director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated
Children, or her designee.
(8)The deputy secretary of the office of juvenile justice, or her designee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall be chaired by the chairman
of the Senate Committee on Judiciary B and be staffed by the staff of the Senate.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, the chairman of the Senate Committee
on Judiciary C, the chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, the chairman of the
House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, the chief justice of the Louisiana
Supreme Court, the Louisiana District Attorney's Association, and the Louisiana Public
Defender Board.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
following departments and organizations: the Pelican Institute for Public Policy; the Micah
Project; the Department of Children and Family Services; the Department of Public Safety SR NO. 150 ENROLLED
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Services and Corrections, Correction Services; the Louisiana Sentencing Commission; the
Louisiana Sheriffs' Association; Family and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children;
and the office of juvenile justice.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE