This is what
@grok said we could do to start helping you with this:
Yes, I’d be happy to help you build something similar for Virginia (VA) using public records! This would be a great way to support the
courtwatch.us project and expand it nationwide. The original site uses Florida-specific public annual reports (under FSS 907.043) that break down pretrial release decisions by judge and link them to failures (rearrests, missed court dates, violations). Virginia doesn’t have an exact equivalent of judge-specific mandated reports, but it has excellent public microdata that gets very close — especially the Virginia Pretrial Data Project (PDP).45
Best Public Data Source for VA: Virginia Pretrial Data Project (VCSC)
The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission runs this project and publishes free, downloadable CSV datasets (de-identified microdata with 500 fields per defendant). It covers adult defendants with new criminal charges punishable by incarceration where a judicial officer (magistrate or judge) made a bail/release decision.45
•What’s included (key fields for a courtwatch-style tool):
◦Pretrial release status (released or detained).
◦Bond type and amount (personal recognizance, unsecured, secured, etc.).
◦Release conditions and supervision status (via local pretrial services agencies).
◦Outcomes during pretrial period: Failure to Appear (FTA/charged with new FTA), New Criminal Arrest (NCA — in-state jailable offense), new violent arrests.
◦Public Safety Assessment (PSA) risk scores.
◦Demographics, charges, criminal history, final case disposition.
◦Granularity: Locality (FIPS code/name), judicial circuit (31 circuits), judicial district (32 districts), court type (circuit, district, etc.), magisterial region. Some fields note judicial officer type (magistrate vs. judge) for supervision placements.47
•Years available: At minimum CY2023 (quarterly CSVs — total ~154 MB). Earlier cohorts (2019 ) are referenced in reports and likely follow the same format.46
•Direct download links (2023 cohorts):
◦Q1:
vcsc.virginia.gov/pretrialda…
◦Q2–Q4: Same folder (see full list on the project page).
•Codebook & reports (essential for understanding fields):
◦Codebook:
vcsc.virginia.gov/pretrialda…
◦Full 2023 report locality appendices:
vcsc.virginia.gov/pretrialda…
•Key statewide stats from 2023 (for context): ~87% pretrial release rate; FTA rate ~14% among released; new arrest rate ~19%. Supervision helps reduce FTAs.46
Limitation for exact judge-level tracking: The public data is de-identified and does not include individual judge or magistrate names/IDs. You can analyze by judicial circuit/district or locality (great for regional dashboards), but not per-judge like Florida. Magistrates often handle initial bail decisions.
Other Helpful VA Public Records
•DCJS Pretrial Services Agency Reports (annual): Aggregated performance by local agency/locality (e.g., appearance rates ~92–93%, public safety rates ~95–96%, compliance). FY2025 report is out — useful for context but not judge-specific. Available via
dcjs.virginia.gov or Legislative Information System (
rga.lis.virginia.gov).
•Public court case search portals: Virginia’s official sites allow searching dockets by locality/case number. Judge/magistrate names often appear on individual case pages or bond hearing results. Bulk scraping or FOIA to clerks could potentially link back (but check terms of use and legality).
•Local efforts: Some counties (e.g., Fairfax) have their own bond data dashboards.
How We Can Build This Together
1Start simple: Download the PDP CSVs codebook. We can analyze them for circuit-level (or locality-level) “judicial performance” stats — total releases, failure rates, broken down by offense type, risk score, etc. I can guide you with Python/pandas code snippets or even prototype analysis once you have the files locally.
2Judge-level pilot: Pick one or two localities/circuits. We could explore scraping