Bail Reform in New York:
What Have We Learned? What’s Next?
#NYBailConference
NEW! WEBINAR | BEFORE AND AFTER: DATA ON THE IMPACT OF BAIL REFORM
On Wednesday, September 21st, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and John Jay College of Criminal Justice hosted a webinar detailing pretrial release outcomes before and after the State’s bail reform law took effect in 2020.
Building on the conference held on May 13th, 2022 (see below), this webinar highlighted new DCJS pretrial data.
- Coinciding with the webinar, DCJS published new data and analysis, which includes pretrial release decisions for arraignments that occurred between Jan. 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2021, to inform the public about the impact and implementation of reforms.
- This new information complements the existing statutorily required pretrial data file and dashboards available on the Office of Court Administration (OCA) and DCJS websites (see "Pretrial Release" section on DCJS page), which are updated every six months.
PPT: New York’s Reformed Bail Law What is it? What are its Effects? (DCJ Director Michael Rempel and Policy Director Krystal Rodriguez)
PPT: Supplemental Pretrial Release Data Summary Analysis: 2019 – 2021 (NYSDCJS Deputy Commissioner in the Division of Criminal Justice Services’ Office of Justice Research and Performance Leigh Bates)
September 28, 2022: Gov Hochul announces that DCJS will distribute $20 million in pretrial services funding to all counties outside of New York City. As outlined in the Governor's 2022 State of the State agenda, this funding will support a continuum of pretrial services, including screening and assessments, supervision, a centralized case management system, and dedicated information sharing with the court system. Probation departments and community-based providers will receive this funding to expand services that enhance public safety and return more people to court. DCJS allocated this funding based on the five-year average of lower court arraignments in each county.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT ON BAIL REFORM IN NEW YORK
On April 1, 2019, as part of the York State Fiscal Year Budget for 2019–2020, New York State approved sweeping bail reform, eliminating the option to set bail or detain people before trial in most nonviolent cases, while preserving bail for virtually all violent felonies. The reforms established a presumption of release, requiring courts to find that someone poses a credible risk of flight before they can set bail or any other pretrial conditions. When bail is involved, the law also mandates consideration of people’s ability to pay before setting an amount. After the law went into effect January 1, 2020, New York State enacted additional amendments (Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2020 effective July 2, 2020) reinstating some offenses as bail eligible. The amendments also require the chief administrator of the courts, in conjunction with DCJS, to collect and report detailed data regarding pretrial release and detention.
Controversies and Dilemmas
The original 2019 reform emerged after several years of information gathering, advocacy, and discussion of alternative approaches. Key points of contention included whether to eliminate bail entirely or preserve it for some charges; how many and which charges would remain bail- and/or detention-eligible; whether risk assessment tools would be permissible; and whether New York would permit judges to consider someone’s perceived dangerousness or retain the law’s preexisting focus on likelihood of court attendance as the sole basis for setting pretrial conditions.
These policy debates and others have persisted, while new debates have arisen. In particular, amidst a nationwide spike in gun violence that first accelerated in the summer of 2020, some public officials and commentators have linked bail reform to violent crime and advocated for rollbacks that would expand courts’ ability to detain people with pending charges. Although no hard evidence supports a bail reform-crime connection, and prior research in other cities indicates that it is oftentimes detaining people, not releasing them, that increases recidivism in the long run, researchers have yet to produce a rigorous evaluation capable of resolving the crime/recidivism question in New York. However, absent better research and allowing additional time for implementation and evaluation, policy makers and the public continue to debate the perception and reality of bail reform in the context of public safety concerns, including issues related to violence as well as hate crimes.
CONFERENCE - BAIL REFROM IN NEW YORK: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? WHAT'S NEXT?
On May 13th, 2022, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in collaboration with the Data Collaborative for Justice, hosted a public conference on New York State’s bail and pretrial laws, policies, and practices. This conference served as a forum on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we should go from here, including a diversity of perspectives through presentations, panels, and interactive roundtables. We were fortunate to have the participation of speakers who presented facts and data regarding bail reform and its impacts in New York (as well as helpful contextual information from around the country) and respectfully represent different constituencies and concerns. Ultimately, this conference served as a platform where all stakeholders in bail reform, from the public to system actors tasked with implementation can engage with the facts on this important policy reform, identified shortcomings in the relevant law and practice, and assessed opportunities for improving upon bail reform.
CONFERENCE AGENDA
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Karol V. Mason, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Marquee Plenary
Part 1: The Origins and Evolution of Bail Reform
Bail Reform in New York: Where did it all begin? How has it evolved, what have we learned, and where do we go from here?
A conversation with:
the Honorable Michael Gianaris, Deputy Majority Leader, New York State Senate
and
Errol Louis, Political Anchor, Spectrum News NY1
Part 2. A “Lightning Round” of Ideas on Bail Reform
Errol Louis converses with leading voices on public safety, including members of the legislature, law enforcement, public defenders and the media, who have expressed views on bail reform. The conversation centered on how New York’s bail reform could be improved, whether through changes to the law or to policy, and through practice on-the-ground.
Panelists:
The Honorable Latrice Walker
New York State Assembly
James Quinn
Former Senior Executive District Attorney, Queens District Attorney’s Office, under District Attorney Richard A Brown
Alice Fontier
Managing Director, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
Charles Billups
Chairperson, Grand Council of Guardians
Kevin Sylvester
Chief of Police, Ossining Police Department
Akash Mehta
Editor-in-Chief, New York Focus
Bail Reform, Crime, and Pretrial Incarceration
Michael Rempel, Director of the Data Collaborative for Justice, hosts a panel which involved a discussion of the existing evidence, data collection and research that is underway, and reflection of what else is needed to address questions and concerns from the public, policymakers and practitioners.
Moderator:
Michael Rempel
Director, Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College
Panelists:
Sandra Smith
Professor of Criminal Justice, Harvard Kennedy School
PPT
Aubrey Fox
Executive Director, New York City Criminal Justice Agency
NYCJA Dashboard
Olive Lu
Senior Research Associate, Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College
PPT
Jaeok Kim
Associate Director of Research, Vera Institute of Justice
PPT
Jennifer Ferone
Associate Research Director, CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance
PPT
Student Roundtable Discussion
As part of the deep dive into bail reform, we brought together undergraduate and graduate students for a roundtable conversation about bail reform. During this discussion, students shared their ideas, concerns and experiences with bail, and proposed potential pathways forward.
Moderators:
Andre Ward
Associate Vice President of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy, Fortune Society
Courts and Communities - Implementation of Bail Reform
Krystal Rodriguez, Policy Director at the Data Collaborative for Justice, engages a panel of advocates, service providers, public defenders and law enforcement in a conversation about opportunities, challenges, and deficits of implementation and any needed investments or reforms that could yield improvements.
Moderator:
Krystal Rodriguez
Policy Director, the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College
Panelists:
The Honorable David Soares
Albany County District Attorney
Martha Bailey
Executive Director, Wayne County Pretrial Services
Yung-Mi Lee
Legal Director, Criminal Defense Practice, Brooklyn Defender Services
Awinna Martinez
Former Project Director of the Staten Island Justice Center, Center for Court Innovation
Sarita Daftary
Co-Director, Freedom Agenda
Bail, Pretrial Detention and Racial Equity
Insha Rahman, Vice President of Advocacy and Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, moderated a panel which heard from perspectives of the judiciary, legislature, advocates and public defenders, to discuss what we know about the extent to which bail reform has impacted racial disparities and populations.
Moderator:
Insha Rahman
Vice President, Advocacy & Partnerships, Vera Institute of Justice
Panelists:
The Honorable Phara Souffrant Forrest
New York State Assembly
Stan Germán
Executive Director, New York County Defender Services
The Honorable Russ Immarigeon
Hillsdale Town Court
Katie Schaffer
Director of Advocacy and Organizing, Center for Community Alternatives
Closing Remarks and Conclusion of Conference
Erica Bond
Vice President of Justice Initiatives at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Jeremy Travis
Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures and Former President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Bail Reform and the Media
A Virtual Discussion Among Journalists on the Influence of Media Coverage
On June 10th, 2022, we hosted a follow-up panel on the role, responsibility and influence of the media regarding bail and pretrial policy reforms. This was intended as a space for journalists to reflect on the influence of media coverage and discuss the challenges of reporting on the reforms.
The panel was hosted by Susan Shah, Managing Director of Racial Justice at Trinity Church Wall Street, and panelists included:
Josefa Velasquez, The City
Craig McCarthy, The New York Post
Josh Solomon, Albany Times Union
Matt Katz, WNYC/Gothamist
Ashley Southall, The New York Times
Questions about the conference should be e-mailed to: dcj@jjay.cuny.edu
Many thanks to Arnold Ventures for their support and for helping to make this convening possible.