ALBANY – The state budget that was finalized last week included changes to the controversial bail reform laws that went into effect earlier this year. The subtle changes have not impressed district attorneys and others that opposed the original bail reform package.
When the new law went into effect in January, those accused of crimes including criminal sales of a controlled substance, killing a police dog, assault of a child, arson, stalking, menacing, and grand larceny were no longer being sent to jail on bail but rather were released with an appearance ticket for a court date in the future. The recent change added burglary and vehicular manslaughter to crimes in which the defendant can be sent to jail on bail.
Additionally, new laws were put in place regarding evidence discovery, which placed an enormous new burden on district attorneys throughout the state. When the law went into effect, district attorneys were given 15 days to turn over all evidence in their case to the defendant or their lawyer.
Many DAs argued that forensic testing of evidence could not be performed in that time-frame which could potentially lead to the case being dismissed. In New York City, the DAs pointed out that the new burden was forcing assistant district attorneys to resign under the added stress.
In Dutchess County, District Attorney William Grady was forced to ask the county legislature for funding to hire new assistant DAs and support staff to comply with discovery laws. The legislature granted his request. The 2020-2021 state budget includes $40 million in funding for district attorneys to upgrade their computer equipment and pay for additional staff.
Last week’s changes including tweaking of the discovery timeframe. For defendants remanded to jail, the DA now has 20 days from the date of arraignment to turn over evidence. For defendants not in custody, the evidence has to be turned over in 35 days.
Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy termed the changes “significant improvements, far from perfect, but some good changes.”
The State Sheriffs’ Association and the State Association of Police Chiefs did not endorse the way the original bail reform laws were enacted, claiming that little to no information was sought from them by lawmakers. Both organizations also railed against including the bail reform laws in the budget process, rather than deliberating it separately.
The COVID-19 pandemic also had law enforcement questioning the way the recently enacted changes were handled. “We have been calling strongly for necessary amendments to last year’s criminal justice reforms, but we would prefer that they be done in a calm deliberative process after this crisis has waned. Pushing something through in the budget, without an opportunity for input or guidance from the law enforcement professionals which we represent will, we fear, just result in additional unworkable, dangerous public policies,” said Greece Police Chief Patrick Phelan, who serves as the president of the Association of Police Chiefs.
Peter Kehoe, the executive director of the State Sheriffs’ Association agreed with Phelan. “The sheriffs are pleased that a number of serious crimes were added to the list of those crimes for which a judge can require bail. We were very disappointed that the legislature did not see fit to give judges the authority to consider dangerousness when deciding whether or not to release a defendant out into the public. This is why we objected to bail law changes being considered in the context of the budget, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, instead of through the regular legislative process. It prevented us and the general public from seeing what the legislature was considering and having an opportunity to impact its decisions.”
State Senator Sue Serino (R, Hyde Park) opposed the original sweeping bail reform package and has sought to change them since they were enacted. Serino joined with Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler who also serves president of the State District Attorneys’ Association at a statehouse rally in February where law enforcement and prosecutors gathered to lobby lawmakers for changes. At the rally, Hoovler said, “It (bail reform) needs some reasonable fixes; it needs some reasonable tweaks. Some people want repeal. I’m more about just getting the reasonable fixes to it and moving forward, but you just can’t have all categories of offenses like manslaughter in the second degree. If you kill somebody, you should be able to seek bail.”
On Saturday, Serino weighed in on the recent changes. “Negotiating behind closed doors is what got the state into this mess in the first place. Albany did a major disservice once again by handling this issue behind closed doors, linking it to an already broken budget process and rushing it through—without public input—in the midst of a pandemic. While some important changes were included, the new measures do not go far enough to address the countless concerns of law enforcement, first responders, and victims’ advocates. This issue absolutely needed to be addressed outside of the budget process.”
The full details of the recent changes have not yet been released.
