Pro Bono
Data-Driven Social Impact
LawVision leverages data analysis expertise to address critical legal and social issues, collaborating with non-profits and contributing to policy reform.
Current Project
New York Bail-Reform Analysis
View the live project here→
Investigating judicial compliance with New York State bail laws through data-driven analysis.
Overview
Bail is the fee a defendant can pay to be released from custody pending trial, ensuring court appearance. The bail system's controversy stems from potential pretrial detention of those unable to afford it, often leading to stays at facilities like Rikers Island.
CPL 510.10 outlines bail-setting guidelines for judges. This project aims to analyze judicial adherence to these laws in New York State.
Dataset
Methodology
- Create a "New York Judge" profile using regression models to analyze bail decisions and assign feature importance values.
- Develop county-specific profiles to identify regional variations in judicial decision-making.
- Assign profiles to individual judges, comparing them to county and state averages.
Research Questions
- What factors correlate with bail amount decisions?
- Are there high-importance factors that shouldn't influence decisions (e.g., race, gender, county median income)?
- How do importance values for different factors vary among judges?
Caution
Drawing Inferences
Correlation ≠ Causation. This model identifies patterns but should not be used to infer causality beyond correlations.
Disclaimer
This project is not intended for use by counsel. It solely examines apparent judicial adherence to CPL 510.10 guidelines.
Dataset Limitations
This data is incomplete, both in its range and its scope. As it is currently running, the model only accounts for bail amounts > 0.