ABSTRACT
This chapter develops the argument that in the lower criminal courts the process itself is the primary punishment. It identify the costs involved in the pretrial process, and examines the ways they affect organization, as well as the way a defendant will proceed on his journeys through the court. There is an elaborate multi-layered system for decision and review, there are a variety of pretrial release alternatives, and assurance of appearance at trial is the sole criterion for establishing release conditions. Although most students of the pretrial process focuses on judicial bail setting at arraignment, their observations may often miss the mark, since in many jurisdictions—including New Haven—the bulk of the pretrial release decisions is made by other people before the accused is ever presented in court. The prosecutor proposes the bail established by the police and reiterated by the bail commissioner.
