By Alejandro Caceres-Aranda
My own personal experience with shaping policy has been to shine the light on underrepresented voices and amplify their voices through key stakeholders. My parents immigrated to the U.S from Colombia and taught me the importance of hard work and perseverance. We received lots of help and support from our community along the way. My parents emphasized the importance of giving back to the community and setting a good example for our youth. Amplifying the voices of young BIPOC leaders has been an ongoing fight for me and is something that I strongly advocate for. I have learned that building strong ties to our communities is the most crucial part to build trust among our stakeholders.
As I began my public policy career, the first legislative session I was ever involved in was the historic 2023 legislative session. I witnessed firsthand bipartisan partnerships between various stakeholders that ultimately led to one of the most successful legislative sessions in the history of Minnesota. Apart from all of the new policies that were implemented during that session, I felt a sense of belonging. Minnesota's efforts to make a more inclusive and diverse generation of policy makers is steadily improving; there is power in setting up our future policymakers to make an impact on both sides of the aisle.
Building bipartisan partnerships and presenting research to create a forum is crucial to create best policy outcomes for Minnesota. Ensuring that it allows various stakeholders to be a part of the ongoing consensus building for a more equitable criminal justice system is the mission for The Minnesota Justice Research Center. In October, the Minnesota Justice Research Center took a significant step forward by bringing in a diverse group of stakeholders together at the St. Thomas Law School and the Center of the American Experiment to tackle some of the challenges Minnesota faces in its justice system.
The Minnesota Legislature tasked us with studying pretrial best practices nationwide and formulating policy recommendations based on our findings. One of the key issues with the pretrial process in Minnesota is the cash bail system. Our research examines the state’s current pretrial practices, with attention to the barriers created by the cash bail system. By researching what other states have done and what’s worked for them—most recently the successes of New Jersey’s bail reform—we are developing proposals that will improve Minnesota’s criminal legal system.
Key Takeaways on Pretrial Best Practices: Hold for Pretrial Listening Session
In October, the Minnesota Justice Research Center, in collaboration with the Center of the American Experiment, hosted a listening session and a presentation on pretrial practices to an audience of legislators, law enforcement officers, policymakers, and judges. With help from our Policy Director, Will Cooley and our partners at Arnold Ventures, we hosted key leadership from New Jersey who previously worked in Governor Chris Christie's administration. They related their experiences with the policy implementation of eliminating cash bail and replacing it with a fairer, safer system.
MNJRC's Research Director Dr. Katie Remington Cunningham kicked off the listening session with an overview of our research alongside Constitutional considerations essential for pretrial improvements. The findings indicated that Minnesota needs a constitutional amendment to refine the process and establish an “intentional detain and release mechanism,” and to address the economic disparities associated with cash bail.
A critical aspect of pretrial reform is addressing conditional release. For example, some community members question the choice between cash bail and following conditional terms, noting that an extended hearing process often burdens the system. The difficulty in assessing risk accurately was also discussed, with counties like Hennepin already piloting risk assessment tools.
Insights from New Jersey's Bail Reform
The pretrial listening session also featured former Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa’s insights on New Jersey's bail reform which pioneered a risk-based approach. In 2014, New Jersey shifted from cash bail to focus on public safety and equity, supported by a 62% voter endorsement of a constitutional amendment. Results have been compelling: the non-violent offender jail population decreased from 12% to 0.02%, and court attendance jumped from 92% to 97%.
The reform received bipartisan support and, as I was listening, I was quite impressed with the New Jersey experts. They weren’t here to sell us on any ideas, they were just informing us on their own experiences with bail reform. When a Minnesota legislator asked, “What is the point of all of this when Minnesota has some of the lowest incarceration rates nationwide?”, with grace, one of the New Jersey experts replied, “Only Minnesotans can make that determination. We are merely here speaking from experience and background knowledge in New Jersey.”
Community Perspectives and Future Directions
The practicalities of implementing reform were addressed by Scott Coffina, who shared the operational shifts in his role as a county prosecutor in New Jersey. Coffina noted that bail reform allowed for discretion in prosecuting severe offenses, improving resources for violent crime and drug addiction responses while reducing jail costs by closing facilities and repurposing them as rehabilitation centers.
Looking ahead, the conversation around Minnesota’s approach to cash bail and the risk-based assessment model must consider community needs, particularly as they relate to public safety and racial bias. Ultimately, by learning from New Jersey's bipartisan framework, Minnesota has the opportunity to design a system that protects individuals’ constitutional rights, advances community safety, and promotes racial justice.
Forum on the Department of Corrections’ Infrastructure and Programming
Following the pretrial listening session at the Center for American Experiment, the MNJRC co-hosted yet another listening session at the University of St. Thomas School of Law alongside the Crime and Justice Institute. We witnessed a great turnout ranging from legislators, law students and community leaders for a discussion on the Department of Corrections infrastructure and programming.
The presentation from the Crime and Justice Institute highlighted the significant challenges of Minnesota's aging prison infrastructure. Two of Minnesota's oldest prisons, Stillwater and St. Cloud, are suffering from critical infrastructure issues like leaking roofs, lack of air conditioning, and plumbing problems. Fixing these aging facilities could cost over $1 billion. The poor conditions impact safety, programming, and healthcare for both incarcerated individuals and correctional officers. Staffing challenges due to the facilities also exacerbate these issues.
To address these challenges, the Minnesota Justice Research Center will continue to examine the safety and viability of these two state correctional facilities and plan the future of the incarceration infrastructure in the state. The current conditions in Saint Cloud and Stillwater are inadequate spaces for the rehabilitative programming necessary to enact the Minnesota Reinvestment and Rehabilitation Act. Without adequate infrastructure, the DOC cannot fulfill its mission of “transforming lives for a safer Minnesota.”
Summary
Witnessing direct stakeholder collaboration and the exchange of scholarly research findings at a bipartisan level was refreshing in a time when the nation’s political landscape is so polarized. Growing up in Minnesota, I became accustomed to working on one side of the aisle, often overlooking the potential for bipartisan partnerships across the two parties that impact policy.
MNJRC seeks to create a criminal legal system that promotes public safety by being more equitable, accountable, and restorative in delivering justice. It’s a rare thing to build consensus from both parties on a particular issue; this is something I have had the privilege of witnessing early in my career and is something that the MNJRC continues to work towards. In less than 3 months, I have witnessed insightful community listening sessions and presentations to political stakeholders; not only are we educating the directly impacted community, we are creating consensus among various political stakeholders to set up the foundation for continued collaboration for criminal justice reform in Minnesota.
If you would like to learn more about these issues, visit MNJRC.ORG/our-work to read our recent reports on bail and, if you are available, please join us on December 17th at the Capitol for a Public Safety Hearing on several issues including the deferred maintenance of the St. Cloud and Stillwater correctional facilities.
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