New York law enforcement groups have pushed back against criminal justice changes that take effect in January, including the end to most forms of cash bail. But the advocates who fought for the changes say they are long overdue and will restore fairness to the system.
Beginning in January, New York ends cash bail for all nonviolent crimes and will require that prosecutors have 15 days to tell people accused of crimes the details of all the evidence they have against them.
Khalil Cumberbatch, with the advocacy group New Yorkers United for Justice, says the changes will go a long way toward restoring fairness to a system that treats low-income residents and people of color more harshly than wealthy or white New Yorkers.
“We are excited to see these reforms go into place,” Cumberbatch said.
Cumberbatch says under current laws, those who can afford to post bail get to go home. Those who can’t are jailed, sometimes for months or even years, before their case is heard in court. Often, when they do finally appear before a judge, they aren’t told what evidence the prosecutor has against them until their trial begins. Cumberbatch, himself a former inmate, says prosecutors have long used those rules to pressure defendants to agree to plead guilty to a lesser crime.
“Most people will say to themselves, ‘I’m going to take the plea’,” said Cumberbatch. “That’s a very powerful leverage.”
But in recent weeks, prosecutors and law enforcement groups, including the New York State Sheriffs Association and the group for the state’s district attorneys, say they are worried that they don’t have the staff and technology needed to carry out the new laws.
The head of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, last month laid out some of the obstacles he faces in implementing the changes.
“In my county, we have almost 40 different law enforcement agencies, they all have different computer systems,” said Hoovler. “There’s no central link to the district attorney’s office. We have courts that meet once a month.”
Hoovler says it will cost an estimated $100 million for DA’s statewide to hire more staff and replace antiquated software.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, who signed the changes into law, has already said he does not favor giving the DA’s more money, and the Democrat says they can find the funds through other sources of state aid already allocated to counties.
Cumberbatch says in the long run, the criminal justice system will save money. He says it’s expensive to house and feed inmates, who now will not be detained for long periods of time because they could not meet a bail payment. He says other states including New Jersey and Texas, have made enacted similar reforms, with no major problems.
With just over three weeks before the changes take effect, it’s unlikely that there will be any changes made. The Democratic leaders of the legislature, who back the new laws, say they need to be given a chance to work.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie spoke after a planning meeting with his members earlier this week.
“Doing the criminal justice reform was trying to reform a racist and classist system,” said Heastie.
There are currently no plans for a special session before the 2020 session begins January 8, after the criminal justice law changes are due to take effect.
