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120 Nw. U. L. Rev. Online 1 (2025-2026)

handle is hein.journals/nulro120 and id is 1 raw text is: Copyright 2025 by Lauren Roberts Vol. 120 Northwestern University Law Review THE COST OF SHOWING UP Lauren Roberts ABSTRACT-This Essay examines the heavy costs and punitive effects of mandatory in-person misdemeanor criminal court appearances in the United States, with a specific focus on New York City. Through analysis of current practices, it builds on an emerging body of scholarship addressing personal appearances in a new era characterized by higher rates of pretrial release resulting from sweeping bail-reform legislation. Within this context, scholars have finally begun to scrutinize the personal-appearance requirement by focusing on the overly harsh penalties for failure to appear. This Essay goes one step further by calling into question the practice of requiring misdemeanor defendants to show up in person for routine appearances in the first place. The Essay identifies how mandatory appearances impose severe collateral consequences-including job loss, educational disruption, and family hardship-on individuals whose cases are generally resolved without criminal convictions or jail time. It argues that this practice disproportionately burdens economically disadvantaged populations while failing to serve any meaningful judicial or public safety purpose. Finally, it challenges the legal necessity and policy wisdom of universal in-person appearance requirements, particularly in light of lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic about the viability of remote alternatives. The Essay concludes by proposing that people charged with misdemeanors be permitted to waive in-person appearances for nonessential court dates, preserving judicial and public resources while mitigating the punitive effects of prolonged court involvement on criminal defendants and their communities. AUTHOR-Lauren Roberts, Visiting Assistant Professor, Brooklyn Law School, and former 30-year public defender at the Legal Aid Society in Bronx County, New York. Special thanks to Jocelyn Simonson and Jesse Bennett for their helpful feedback and invaluable support. Thanks also to Zhouri Li and Julia Ferguson for their excellent research assistance. This Essay also benefitted from comments at the Brooklyn Law School Junior Faculty Workshop. 1