Public Notice Detail

ST. PAUL, MN (Jan. 9, 2003) – Today officials in Ramsey County District Court released the results of a study demonstrating that race of the defendant is not a factor in the decisions of judges during the pre-trial phase in criminal court. 

“Although there is still much work to be done to ensure our courts are free from racial discrimination, we are pleased to make progress in this area,” said Ramsey County Chief Judge J. Thomas Mott.

At a pre-trial hearing, the judge reviews the defendant’s record, social history and other factors and then makes a determination to release the individual on his or her own recognizance, impose a conditional release or detain the defendant and impose bail. 

The study found that there was no connection between the race of the defendant and judges’ decisions in the pre-trial phase.  The study examined the decisions in relation to race, the defendant’s prior history and the defendant’s “score” on a bail evaluation tool. 

Ramsey County District Court Judge Margaret Marrinan headed up the Ramsey County study by convening a broad-based group in 2001 to determine if racial bias affected judicial decisions regarding bail and release conditions.  Since the 1970s, Ramsey County has utilized a uniform evaluation tool, called the Project Remand Evaluation, to help judges make decisions about pre-trial custody.  This tool was substantially revamped in 1994.  Judge Marrinan called the instrument “indispensable” to judges’ detention decisions and credited the recent study’s positive results to the tool’s successful implementation. 

“For people to accept the justice system it is crucial that they know they're being treated fairly by the courts,” said Judge Marrinan.  “The evaluation gives judges the information they need to make better decisions.”

Ramsey County District Court Judge and former St. Paul City Attorney George Stephenson believed the study to be a fair analysis.  “Judges and prosecutors have to be sensitive to this issue,” Judge Stephenson said. “Prosecutors with whom I've worked over the years and who have appeared before me have appeared even-handed and fair-minded in this regard.  But we need to continue to be vigilant to ensure fairness and, just as important, the appearance of fairness.”

Judge Mott agreed and pointed to efforts underway in all Minnesota courtrooms to collect race data.  “We’ll continue to collect data, evaluate our practices and solicit feedback,” he said.  “Our courts should be the one place where the only things that matter are the law and the facts.”

The study utilized 235 pre-trial evaluation forms in Ramsey County.  Full results of the study can be found at www.courts.state.mn.us.