The

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

attempted bail reform, in an act that stood from January to June 2020. As part of the New York State Fiscal Year (SFY) Budget for 2019–2020, passed on April 1, 2019, cash

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

was eliminated for most misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges, "including

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

without serious injury,

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

, many drug offenses, and even some kinds of arson and robbery." The law went into effect on January 1, 2020. It was later narrowed after public pushback. According to ''The New York Times'', "While

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and other states have limited the use of bail, New York is one of the few states to abolish bail for many crimes without also giving state judges the discretion to consider whether a person poses a threat to public safety in deciding whether to hold them." There was a surge of opposition from lawmakers, district attorneys, and police chiefs as the date of implementation of the bail reform law neared. New York state judges reportedly started releasing criminal suspects in November 2019 due to the impending law implementation. It was estimated that 25,000 people would be released by the time the law took effect. In the first full year after implementation of the law, there were approximately 100,000 cases where adults were released instead of being held in custody or assigned bail. In one-fifth of those cases a released individual sustained a new arrest while the initial case was pending, most of which were for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. Individuals who were arrested again for violent felony charges accounted for two percent of those 100,000 cases, and fewer than one-half a percent of those released were arrested again for violent felony charges with a firearm.

Support

Supporters of the law have "hailed it as a landmark measure to stop the poor from being jailed before trial simply because they had few resources." They say "the new bail system will pay dividends by allowing people awaiting trial to remain in their homes with their families and jobs — all elements of maintaining stability in low-income communities." They say critics of the law are being alarmist.

Opposition and criticism

Prosecutors and law enforcement officials have criticized the law for taking away critical decision-making from judges, who no longer have "the discretion to set a higher bail for people with long arrest records" or have shown "other signs they might commit another crime." They also fear "some defendants released under the new rules will continue to commit crimes, and a few may try to

intimidate Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...

potential witnesses." Further criticism came after the

Monsey Hanukkah stabbing On the night of December 28, 2019, the seventh night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, a masked man wielding a large knife or machete invaded the home of a Hasidic rabbi in Monsey, Rockland County, New York, where a Hanukkah party was underw ...

, even though the bail reform law would not apply in that case. Additional criticism came from communities impacted by a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. One assailant, Tiffany Harris, was released without bail after attacking three Jewish women, and attacked another woman the next day. This and other attacks raised concerns that the new law put New Yorkers more at risk. Following a spike in crime statistics in January 2020 and under sustained opposition, the bail reform was rolled back that month. Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

signed legislation allowing judges to impose cash bail for more crimes and under more conditions (such as the defendant being on parole).

References

{{reflist 2019 in New York (state) 2020 in New York (state) Bail in the United States 2019 in American law 2019 controversies in the United States Bail reform Criminal justice reform in the United States bail reform