Santa Clara Public Defender Pre-Arraignment Representation & Review Team (PARR) Pilot

Last registered on December 19, 2022

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Santa Clara Public Defender Pre-Arraignment Representation & Review Team (PARR) Pilot

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0006390

Initial registration date

September 01, 2020

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

September 02, 2020, 10:35 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated

December 19, 2022, 12:58 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

California

Primary Investigator

Name

Johanna Lacoe

Affiliation

University of California, Berkeley

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Steven Raphael

PI Affiliation

UC Berkeley

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2019-12-19

End date

2023-08-31

Keywords

Crime, Violence, & Conflict

Additional Keywords

pretrial

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

The California Policy Lab will evaluate the impact of the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office’s Pre-Arraignment Representation & Review Team (PARR) during the pilot implementation on pre-trial detention, release at arraignment, and case outcomes. The pilot will use a random process to assign legal staff to clients who are booked on felony charges and not released by a night judge within 24 hours of booking.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Lacoe, Johanna and Steven Raphael. 2022. "Santa Clara Public Defender Pre-Arraignment Representation & Review Team (PARR) Pilot." AEA RCT Registry. December 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6390-1.3

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The Santa Clara Public Defender's Office created a Pre-Arraignment Representation & Review Team (PARR) that provided early public representation to individuals booked into the Santa Clara jail for the first 3 months of 2020 (prior to COVID-19). The PARR unit did not have sufficient resources to serve all individuals in custody pre-arraignment on felony charges in Santa Clara County. They therefore operated on a different day each week, intending to provide service to all eligible individuals booked in a specific period each week.

Intervention Start Date

2020-01-01

Intervention End Date

2020-03-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

• The number of days detained pre-arraignment and pre-disposition
• Release at arraignment
• Charges filed (whether any charges are filed, number of charges filed, severity)
• Case dispositions (dismissals, charges being reduced)

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

• Motions to revoke probation
• Conviction
• Terms of sentences/sentence length when sentenced
• Average bail amount when money bail is set

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The PARR unit did not have sufficient resources to serve all individuals in custody pre-arraignment on felony charges in Santa Clara County. They therefore operated on a different day each week, intending to provide service to all eligible individuals booked in a specific period each week. Eligible individuals booked on a non-treatment day will make up the control group – if eligible for public defender services, their first interaction with the office is at arraignment.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

The PARR team operated on a different day each week, each week serving individuals booked into custody during a specific time period. The team rotated through a 6-week schedule.

Randomization Unit

Individual criminal case (booking)

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

N/A

Sample size: planned number of observations

We estimate that approximately 2,200 individuals were arrested in Santa Clara County during the PARR pilot period.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Based on PARR’s weekly rotating schedule, we estimate services were offered to 17% of individuals (n~350) in custody post booking and pre-arraignment and that services were provided to approximately 1/3 of the individuals (n~125) to whom they were offered.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Based on these sample calculations, we expect an intent-to-treat (ITT) minimum detectable effect (MDE) on the main outcomes of interest of 5-7 percentage points (95% confidence; 80% power). Release at arraignment: population mean:0.14; MDE: 0.050 Release pre-disposition: population mean: 0.30; MDE: 0.066 Acquittal/dismissal rate: population mean: 0.11; MDE: 0.046 Felony conviction rate: population mean: 0.054; MDE: 0.072

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB