How did Criminal Justice Reform come about?

The transformation of our criminal justice system is a joint effort of all three branches of government. It grew from the work of the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice, a special committee of the Supreme Court established by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner to examine the issues of bail and speedy trial reform. The committee included the attorney general, the public defender, judges, county prosecutors, defense counsel, court administrators, representatives of the Legislature, and a representative of the American Civil Liberties Union. The committee developed and issued a series of recommendations that were incorporated into landmark legislation. Voters in November 2014 approved a constitutional change that became effective on Jan. 1 2017 to permit judges to keep high-risk defendants detained without bail.