§ 23-1303 — Interviews with detainees; investigations and reports; information as confidential; consideration and use of reports in making bail determinations.

District of Columbia § 23-1303

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 23: Criminal Procedure. [Enacted title]
• Ch. 13: Bail Agency [Pretrial Services Agency] and Pretrial Detention.
• Subch. I: District of Columbia Bail Agency [Pretrial Services Agency].

Text

(a) The agency shall, except when impracticable, interview any person detained pursuant to law or charged with an offense in the District of Columbia who is to appear before a judicial officer or whose case arose in or is before any court named in section 23-1302(1). The interview, when requested by a judicial officer, shall also be undertaken with respect to any person charged with intoxication or a traffic violation. The agency shall seek independent verification of information obtained during the interview, shall secure any such person’s prior criminal record which shall be made available by the Metropolitan Police Department, and shall prepare a written report of the information for submission to the appropriate judicial officer. The report to the judicial officer shall, where appropriate, include a recommendation as to whether such person should be released or detained under any of the conditions specified in subchapter II of this chapter . If the agency does not make a recommendation, it shall submit a report without recommendation. The agency shall provide copies of its report and recommendations (if any) to the United States attorney for the District of Columbia or the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia [Attorney General for the District of Columbia], and to counsel for the person concerning whom the report is made. The report shall include but not be limited to information concerning the person accused, his family, his community ties, residence, employment, and prior criminal record, and may include such additional verified information as may become available to the agency.

(b) With respect to persons seeking review under subchapter II of this chapter of their detention or conditions of release, the agency shall review its report, seek and verify such new information as may be necessary, and modify or supplement its report to the extent appropriate.

(c) The agency, when requested by any appellate court or a judge or justice thereof, or by any other judicial officer, shall furnish a report as provided in subsection (a) of this section respecting any person whose case is pending before any such appellate court or judicial officer or in whose behalf an application for a bail determination shall have been submitted.

(d) Any information contained in the agency's files, presented in its report, or divulged during the course of any hearing shall not be admissible on the issue of guilt in any judicial proceeding, but such information may be used in proceedings under §§ 23-1327 , 23-1328 , and 23-1329 , in perjury proceedings, and for the purposes of impeachment in any subsequent proceeding. Any information obtained from a device, as that term is defined in § 22-1211(a)(2) , may be used on the issue of guilt in any judicial proceeding.

(e) The agency, when requested by a member or officer or designated civilian employee of the Metropolitan Police Department acting pursuant to court rules governing the issuance of citations in the District of Columbia, shall furnish to such member or officer or designated civilian employee a report as provided in subsection (a) of this section.

(f) The preparation and the submission by the agency of its report as provided in this section shall be accomplished at the earliest practicable opportunity.

(g) A judicial officer in making a bail determination shall consider the agency’s report and its accompanying recommendation, if any. The judicial officer may order such detention or may impose such terms and set such conditions upon release, including requiring the execution of a bail bond with sufficient solvent sureties as shall appear warranted by the facts, except that such judicial officer may not order any detention or establish any term or condition for release not otherwise authorized by law.

(h) The agency shall —

(1) supervise all persons released on nonsurety release, including release on personal recognizance, personal bond, nonfinancial conditions, or cash deposit or percentage deposit with the registry of the court;

(2) make reasonable effort to give notice of each required court appearance to each person released by the court;

(3) serve as coordinator for other agencies and organizations which serve or may be eligible to serve as custodians for persons released under supervision and advise the judicial officer as to the eligibility, availability, and capacity of such agencies and organizations;

(4) assist persons released pursuant to subchapter II of this chapter in securing employment or necessary medical or social services;

(5) inform the judicial officer and the United States attorney for the District of Columbia or the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia [Attorney General for the District of Columbia] of failure to comply with pretrial release conditions or the arrest of persons released under its supervision and recommend modifications of release conditions when appropriate;

(6) prepare, in cooperation with the United States marshal for the District of Columbia and the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, such pretrial detention reports as are required by Rule 46 (h) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; and

(7) perform such other pretrial functions as the executive committee may, from time to time, assign.

Legislative History

July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 640, Pub. L. 91-358, Title II, § 210(a); June 12, 1999, D.C. Law 12-284, § 8(c), 46 DCR 1328