When the Chief Judge of an
entire state says that changes need to be made, it makes big news. New York has
always had the problem of not explicitly addressing public safety, but what is
most encouraging is that Judge Lippman is also talking about the other side of
the bail coin – the unnecessary pretrial detention of low risk defendants who
simply lack the funds to get out of jail.
The whole New York Times
story is at the link – I only reprinted a couple of excerpts.
Top Judge Says Bail in
New York Isn’t Safe or Fair
Published:
February 5, 2013
Castigating
the bail process in New York as unfair to the poor and susceptible to allowing
dangerous suspects to be set free, the state’s top judge called on Tuesday for
an overhaul of the bail system that would bring the state closer in line with
the rest of the country.
In
his annual State of the Judiciary speech in Albany, the chief judge, Jonathan
Lippman, said New York was one of only four states that did not allow judges to
consider public safety when making a bail determination. The main criterion
used by judges is the risk of the defendant’s not returning to court for trial.
“As
a result, defendants may be put back on the street with insufficient regard to
public safety, with possibly catastrophic consequences,” he said. “Few, if any,
would seriously argue that judges should not consider the safety and well-being
of people on our streets or in our homes when making bail decisions.
“This
makes no sense and certainly does not serve the best interests of our
communities and our citizens.”
Conversely,
Judge Lippman said the bail system was stacked against those
accused of minor crimes, keeping them in jail at great personal hardship and
weakening their resolve in plea negotiations. The judge called that outcome
“unfair” and said it “strips our justice system of its credibility.”
Judge Lippman’s proposal is in line with trends across the country to
overhaul bail so that it is based more on an analysis of the risk that
defendants pose to public safety, rather than their financial well-being. The
United States Conference of Chief Justices, of which Judge Lippman is a member,
last week adopted a resolution with similar goals.
