In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, a pretrial services report is a document used by a
judicial officer
A judicial officer is a person with the responsibilities and powers to facilitate, arbitrate, preside over, and make decisions and directions with regard to the application of the law.
Judicial officers are typically categorized as judges, magis ...
, typically a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
, in making decisions, e.g., about
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...
. In 2016, federal officers prepared 88,248 pretrial services reports, 97 percent of which were pre-bail reports. Typically the report must be prepared within a very limited timeframe due to the deadlines for making bail decisions.
To gather information for the report, the officer interviews the defendant. The report will contain defendant case information, such as residence, family ties, employment history, financial resources, health (including mental health and substance abuse histories), and criminal history. The officer then performs a criminal record check, pursues investigative leads, and verifies information which the defendant has provided, such as address, employment, assets, and citizenship.
On the basis of this information, the report will assess the defendant's likelihood of appearing for court and the level of danger he poses to the community. The last section of the report recommends for the release or detention of the defendant.
References
Courts
Legal documents
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