Paul Heaton

University of Pennsylvania Website

Paul Heaton is Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and Academic Director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Voting History

Pretrial detention

Reducing the number of people detained pretrial will lead to a net increase in crime in the medium- to long-term.

Vote Confidence
Disagree 8
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Disagree 7
Comments

Although the evidence from good causal studies is mixed, with some finding a zero net effect of pretrial detention in the medium to long term, and some finding that detention actually increases crime once we get beyond the short-run incapacitation stage, studies are consistent in showing the detention doesn't decrease crime.

Ending the use of cash bail will meaningfully reduce the number of people detained pretrial.

Vote Confidence
Agree 5
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 7
Comments

This really depends on what process to determine who gets detained is used in place of cash bail, but the evidence from places like New Jersey suggests that eliminating bail in real-world settings would reduce detention.

Using risk assessment to inform detention decisions will meaningfully reduce the number of people detained pretrial.

Vote Confidence
Agree 3
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 5
Comments

Much depends on implementation--some versions of risk assessment could increase detention, and others judges would ignore. However, one advantage of risk assessment may be political rather than technical--by addressing fears about public safety, it can allow people otherwise unwilling to support reductions in detention to do so