Chaired by Commissioner Carlos Graupera, the Criminal Justice Committee focuses on addressing disparities in Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system and reforming its indigent defense, capital punishment, and pretrial detention systems.
Committee Feature
A significant number of recommendations contained in the Final Report of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System focused on the importance of providing adequate indigent defense counsel. Recommendations included securing sufficient funding, statewide professional standards and oversight, and reliable, uniform statewide data collection.
In 2023, the General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed into law Act 34, which establishes a first-of-its-kind allotment of $7.5 million for the funding of indigent defense services in Pennsylvania. It also creates an Indigent Defense Advisory Committee (“IDAC”) within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (“PCCD”). The Interbranch Commission Executive Director holds an ex officio seat on this Committee, which is charged with disbursing these funds. The Executive Director also serves as co-chair of the Data Collection, Research & Technology Subcommittee of IDAC. Every county will receive funding for staffing, training, and ancillary services (investigators, interpreters, and social workers). The finalized FY 2024-25 state budget again allots $7.5 million.
The Committee’s current initiatives include the following:
- Sharing the research of Professor Jeffrey Ulmer of Penn State University’s Criminal Justice Research Center regarding disparities in the prosecution of homicides in Pennsylvania
- Exploring the potential use of informational juror videos and jury instructions related to the impact of implicit bias
- Supporting Criminal Procedural Rules responsive to Act 163 (2022), which gives courts explicit authority to reduce or waive nearly all fines and costs when the court finds that the defendant is unable to pay them, ensuring that individuals are not incarcerated due solely to their financial status
- Supporting legislations stemming from the work of the Juvenile Justice Task Force, on which several former Interbranch Commissioners served.
- Sharing information regarding the City of Bethlehem’s Community Connections Program, which connects individuals to community resources to address issues including housing insecurity, mental health needs, alcohol/drug dependency, and parenting skills
- Advocating for research on the efficacy of problem-solving courts in Pennsylvania
Members
- Carlos Graupera (Chair)
- Andrew Barnes
- Nena Carter, Esq.
- President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark
- Philip Friedman, Esq.
- Catherine H. Law, Esq.
- Lisette McCormick, Esq.
- PA State Senator Katie Muth
- Judge Carolyn Nichols
- Tyra Oliver, Esq.
- Taylor Pacheco, Esq.
- Jon Pushinsky, Esq.
- PA State Representative Christopher M. Rabb
- Joseph Welsh, Esq.
- Elizabeth Wood-Bennett, Esq.
- Victoria Wrigley
Reports
- Letter in Support of SB 752 – Expanding Diversion Programs, Focusing Detention, and Other Evidence-Based Reforms for Youth
- Letter in Support of SB 751 – Eliminating Practice of “Direct File” for Youth
- Letter in Support of SB 170 – Standardizing Juvenile Record Expungement Process
- Press Release: Developments and Continued Challenges in Reform of Indigent Defense Services in Pennsylvania
- Comments to Court re Proposed Criminal Procedural Rules Consistent with Act 163 (2022) (Reduction, Waiver of LFOs)
- Press Release: Inaugural Meeting of Statewide Indigent Defense Advisory Committee
- Press Release: Enactment of Act 34 (2023), State-Based Funding for Indigent Defense Reform
- Second Round of Comments re Court’s Revised Proposed Amendments to PA Criminal Procedural Rules Governing Appointment of Counsel, Purpose of Bail, and Others
- Proposal to PA Supreme Court re Amendments to Statewide Rules Governing Courts’ Collection of Fines/Costs Consistent with Act 163 (2022)
- Comments to Court re Proposed State Criminal Procedural Rules Governing Appointment of Counsel, Purpose of Bail, and Others
- Second Round of Comments to ACBA re Proposed Amendments to Local Rules Governing Bail, Probation and Incarceration
- Testimony re Pardons Board Policy on Outstanding LFOs and Clemency
- Comments on ACBA’s Proposed Court Rules Governing Bail, Probation & Incarceration (with Focus on Local Use of Risk Assessment Instrument)
- Indigent Defense Reform Memorandum Highlights
- Memorandum in Support of Criminal Indigent Defense Reform
- Letter to Legislature re Police Misconduct Reform Legislation
- Letter to President Judges Proposing Local Court Rules Reducing Pre-Trial Incarceration of Indigent, Non-Violent Defendants
- Capital Punishment in PA: Report of JSGC Task Force & Advisory Committee
- Testimony re PCS Proposed Risk Assessment Instrument
- Penn State Study: Capital Punishment Decisions in PA, 2000-2010
- Guide: Reform of Debtors’ Prisons in PA