Tag: bail reform
The Intercept: The Backlash
Justine Olderman, of the Bronx Defenders, agreed. “One of the strongest lessons we’ve learned so far is just the fact of the backlash,” she said. “The drive to detain is so powerful, the drive to detain and punish mostly black and brown people from low-income communities is so strict, that it doesn’t matter how careful […]
The Post-Journal: Bail Reform Debate Deepens Among State Democrats
A group of New York criminal defense organizations, including The Bronx Defenders, criticized the proposal and said it assumes that judges and prosecutors can predict a person’s behavior. “This will result in injustice for everyone in New York and will certainly end up exacerbating racially disparate outcomes,” they said in a statement. State Assembly Speaker Carl […]
Gothamist: Murder of Nassau County Man Not Caused By Recent Discovery Reforms, Contrary To Official Statements
The Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, the Legal Aid Society of New York, Brooklyn Defender Services, the Bronx Defenders, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Innocence Project & Citizen Action of New York issued a joint statement Wednesday that read: “The tragic death of Mr. Maldonado (Rodriguez) is, unequivocally, not the […]
Politico: Bail reformers take heat — Bloomberg to double ad spending — Cuomo names Medicaid panel
There are, defense attorneys say, plenty of cases to illustrate the opposite point: folks who have gone home instead of languishing in jail for want of a few hundred bucks, showed up for court, kept their jobs, and gone on with their lives. And yet, nobody with such a story has come forward to share it. […]
Politico: Bail reformers face public relations hurdle
“We know that people who have open cases are always hesitant to share stories with the press for fear that notoriety or attention to their case will somehow prejudice them in their case,” said Scott Levy, chief policy counsel at the Bronx Defenders. “And now those fears are heightened because we see that people who […]
Politico: Year begins with crime spike in NYC amid statewide bail debate
Eli Northrup of the Bronx Defenders, one of a small group of advocates who held signs supporting bail reform outside the mayor’s press conference, called it “kind of ridiculous” to argue “that a month of cherry-picked [stats] justifies a rollback of this needed reform.” “The mayor for some reason and the police commissioner seem hell-bent […]
NYU News: Arguments Against New York’s Cash Bail Reforms Are Dated
“But bail has little effect on the likelihood of defendants returning to court. After the Bronx Defenders bailed out 150 people, 95% of their clients attended every court appearance, and almost 50% of the cases were dismissed entirely. The high return rate fundamentally undermines the supposed purpose of bail — incentivizing defendants to show up to their […]
The Riverdale Press: Advocates herald cash bail reform as a good first step
Bail, initially, was a way to ensure those accused of crimes would show up for their day in court. Over time, it has become a way to keep people contained while they wait for their trial date. “Bail is a mechanism for release,” said Scott Levy, chief policy counsel at the Bronx Defenders. “It’s not […]
New York State of Politics: Criminal Justice Reform Groups Back Heastie on Supporting Bail Law
“Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s support for the cashless bail law amid a growing maelstrom may feel like a lonely stance in Albany these days. But on Friday, the speaker got some backing from a coalition of progressive organizations supporting his stance that the new law should not be scaled back. “We applaud Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for […]
City and State: Advocates: Don’t make changes to the state’s new bail law
“A coalition of 60 criminal justice reform groups are sending an open letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders demanding that they don’t change the state’s newly enacted law limiting the use of cash bail. “Make no mistake,” the letter reads, in part, “retreating from bail reform less than a week after it goes […]