OKPOLICY.ORG
Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, has pre-filed Senate Bill 1381, to be known as the Pretrial Modernization Act of 2026. The bill, if passed, could help curb unnecessary detention in both county jail and Department of Corrections facilities.
Oklahoma’s pretrial system faces a significant challenge with jail overcrowding. Oklahomans are jailed at a rate nearly 30 percent higher than the US average. Critically, 75 percent have not yet been convicted of a crime, giving us the 11th highest pretrial incarceration rate nationally. According to the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Advisory Council, slightly under 84 percent of detainees in the Oklahoma County Detention Facility are being held pretrial.
Research funded by the Arnold Foundation reveals that people held in pretrial detention are three times more likely to be sentenced to prison and receive longer prison sentences than defendants on pretrial release.
Pretrial confinement in jail also increases the likelihood of recidivism. The Arnold research found as little as a weekend in pretrial detention increases the likelihood a low-risk defendant will commit a crime upon release or miss a court date, and that likelihood increases the longer the defendant is detained.
In addition to loss of income, education disruption, loss of housing, family separation and the trauma of jail, pretrial confinement pressures defendants to plead guilty. After remaining in jail for weeks or months awaiting trial, regardless of guilt or innocence, the most rational option for a defendant becomes making a deal with the prosecutor that is essentially a get out of jail card. The plea deals often set up defendants for later lengthy incarceration.
Cash bail bonds have historically been based on the crimes charged and bear little, if any, informed individualized assessment of flight risk or danger to the community. While a few local jurisdictions have instituted practices more reflective of individual risk assessment, they are not the norm in Oklahoma.
Charge-based cash bail can also be a public safety issue. Detainees are often released if they can pay for bail regardless of safety risk to the community.
SB 1381 requires initial hearings before a judge to be held within 48 hours of arrest on weekdays — or 72 hours on weekends or holidays — to determine if the arrestee can be safely released.
At the hearing, the court must (1) determine if the detainee should remain in confinement or (2) set conditions of release that can reasonably assure the safety of the public and the detainee’s return to court.
In making the determination, the court shall consider, among other factors: the offense seriousness; likelihood of conviction; mental health history; community ties; employment; and whether the defendant has the financial resources to post bond.
The bill would establish defendants have the right to counsel at the initial hearing. The court must appoint counsel unless the defendant is privately represented or the court finds the defendant has been advised and knowingly waived counsel. The defendant must be able to privately consult with their counsel prior to and during the hearing and can contest and present evidence.
The bill would also require the defendant to be advised that he or she can register for text reminders, provided by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, to be sent forty-eight (48) hours before each scheduled court appearance. Courts must also provide defendants with written instructions on how to register for the service.
SB 1381 would increase efficiency and strengthen safety, fairness, and justice in Oklahoma’s pretrial system.
