Impact of pending cases

An often overlooked metric of fairness and effectiveness in the criminal legal system is how long it takes to resolve a case, otherwise known as time to disposition.

Though, in some ways an understated issue, the implication for victims, defendants, and families is profound. When individuals are waiting – sometimes hundreds of days – for their case to be disposed, instability overtakes their lives resulting in huge impacts on employment, schooling, and housing.

Case screening is a tool JIL has begun developing that helps prosecutors make just decisions while reducing case disposition times, allowing more resources to be focused on cases with the greatest impact to public safety. Faster removal of cases with insufficient evidence from the system reduces the significant burdens on arrestees of having a pending case.

In this short video, you will hear from four individuals who speak about their experiences with pending cases in the criminal justice system - the impact on them, on their families, and their future.