State law reforming bail rules in New York, United States
The U.S. state of New York enacted 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,[1][2] cash bail was eliminated for most misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges,[3] including stalking, assault without serious injury, burglary, many drug offenses, and some categories of arson and robbery.[4] The law went into effect on January 1, 2020. It has been amended several times since then.[5][6]
According to The New York Times, "While New Jersey, California, Illinois 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."[4]
The reform was the subject of considerable public debate, and was opposed by several lawmakers, district attorneys, and police chiefs before its implementation.[7]
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.[8]
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 rearrested on violent felony charges accounted for nearly four percent of those 100,000 cases, and fewer than one-half of one percent of those released were arrested again for violent felony charges with a firearm.[9][10]
The law has undergone several changes since implementation. In January 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation allowing judges to impose cash bail for more crimes and under more conditions (such as the defendant being on parole).[11] Several changes to the law since then have given judges further discretion to set bail in some circumstances.[6]
^McKinley, Jesse (March 31, 2019). "New York State Budget Deal Brings Congestion Pricing, Plastic Bag Ban and Mansion Tax". The New York Times.
^"No Plastic Bags or Cash Bail: The Changes New Yorkers Will See Because of the State Budget". Spectrum News NY1. April 2, 2019. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^McMahon, Julie (April 2, 2019). "New York ends cash bail for most: What it means for people charged with a crime". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^ abMcKinley, Jesse; Feuer, Alan; Ferré-Sadurní, Luis (December 31, 2019). "Why Abolishing Bail for Some Crimes Has Law Enforcement on Edge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
^Lartey, Jamiles (April 23, 2020). "New York Rolled Back Bail Reform. What Will The Rest Of The Country Do?". The Marshall Project. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
^ abWylie, Stephanie; Grawert, Ames (July 20, 2023). "2023 Criminal Justice Reform in New York State". Brennan Center for Justice. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
^Tarinelli, Ryan (December 30, 2019). "New York bail changes set to take effect in January despite late swell of opposition". NBCNewYork.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^Murphy, Mary (December 26, 2019). "Prosecutor says NY judges are 'anguished' as they release suspects under bail reform law". WPIX. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^Solomon, Joshua; Lyons, Brendan J. (January 2, 2022). "New data shows nearly 4 percent of people out due to bail changes were rearrested for violent felonies". www.timesunion.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
^Solomon, Joshua (January 12, 2022). "GOP questions state's bail data; updated data show 2% of bail offenses led to rearrests on violent felonies". www.timesunion.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^Merkl, Taryn (April 16, 2020). "New York's Latest Bail Law Changes Explained". The Brennan Center for Justice. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
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