Hochul breaks on bail reform
/By Jacob Kaye and Rachel Vick
After months of resisting calls to rollback bail laws and other recently passed criminal justice reforms, Governor Kathy Hochul is reconsidering her stance, according to press reports.
In a memo reported by the New York Post, Hochul said that she was looking to give judges discretion to consider a defendant’s criminal history while requesting bail, expand the number of charges considered bail eligible and make reforms to recently enacted legislation that makes it so 16- and 17-year olds are tried as minors.
Hochul is allegedly aiming to negotiate the changes into the state’s budget, which is due April 1, according to press accounts.
Many of the reforms and rollbacks mentioned in the memo match up with recent requests Mayor Eric Adams made to state lawmakers as part of his efforts to stem gun violence in New York City.
Last month, the mayor made a trip to Albany to ask lawmakers to consider rolling back bail reform, to introduce a dangerousness standard and to try teens as adults if their charges are related to guns.
But his requests were rebuffed by state lawmakers, including Hochul, who showed little appetite for rolling back the reforms.
Hochul will have to go through those same lawmakers, a number of whom quickly criticized the governor’s position Thursday, to squeeze the criminal justice changes into the budget.
“The ten-point plan released today by the governor’s office does not contain considered policy,” said Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos. “Instead, it is a reactive and knee-jerk political response, issued shortly after our disgraced former governor shared bad-faith attacks and threats to run for his old seat.”
“A cynical reading of the timing of this release could lead one to believe that the governor, facing new challenges from the right, is intending to use fear-mongering over bail reform rollbacks as a bargaining chip in final budget negotiations,” she added.
Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani said that he “will not vote for any budget that rolls back bail reform, discovery reform, or Raise the Age.”
Reports of the memo also drew wide rebuke from criminal justice advocates, who have been pushing back against threats to reform the reforms for several years.
“In a single sweep, she has proposed rolling back year’s worth of justice reforms, caving to disingenuous attacks on bail, discovery and Raise the Age reform,” said Marvin Mayfield, the director of organizing at Center for Community Alternatives. “In doing so, she is placing political expediency over all evidence about what actually improves safety.”
Hochul’s memo allegedly would give judges discretion when requesting bail, allowing them to make judgment calls based on a defendant's history when the charges are serious felonies.
“The statute will set forth specific criteria on which judges will base their determinations, including criminal history and history of firearm use/possession,” the memo reads, according to the Post.
Hochul’s proposal would also make certain gun-related offenses, hate crimes and subway crimes subject to arrest, instead of desk appearance tickets. It would also change the bail laws to make a second offense bail eligible, regardless of the charge.
Hochul’s office did not respond to the Eagle’s request for comment.
Adams, who has criticized existing bail reform since taking office, celebrated the news after months without solid commitment from lawmakers.
“The governor’s proposal includes significant steps, which I have advocated for, that would make New York safer, while not undoing important reforms,” he said in a statement. “It is a big step forward that these proposals are being discussed at the highest level in Albany, and I am grateful to the governor and the legislature for their partnership.”
Not all state lawmakers gave Hochul’s proposal a hard no on Thursday.
Queens Assemblymember David Weprin, who chairs the legislative body’s Committee on Corrections, said he would be amenable to some of the proposed changes.
“I would consider adding charges [that can be considered for bail],” Weprin told the Eagle. “I think we should certainly concentrate on repeat offenders because that's some of the issues that have been coming up, constant repeat offenders, even though it might technically be a misdemeanor.”
“I certainly would look at something like that,” he added.
However, Weprin isn’t willing to jump on board with all of the governor’s wishes.
“We spent a lot of time on Raise the Age,” Weprin said of the legislation that made it so 16- and 17-year-olds get tried as teens and not adults. “I think the answer is not to treat the minors as adults, I think the answer is to go after the traffickers, the ones that are taking advantage by using the minors. I feel pretty strongly about that.”
Even as he supports exploring certain aspects of Hochul’s plan, Weprin said that the city’s rise in crime, and, in particular, gun violence, shouldn’t be explained away by only pointing to bail reform.
“I personally don't think the problem is bail reform,” he said.
