Pair of prosecutors blast upcoming bail and discovery reforms

Staten Island DA Michael McMahon and Acting Queens DA John Ryan denounced upcoming bail and discovery reforms. Photo courtesy of the Staten Island DA’s Office.

By David Brand

Opponents of the state’s upcoming bail and discovery reforms, including Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan, say the measures go too far — and they want the legislature to temper the new laws before they take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Ryan visited Staten Island Thursday for a joint press conference with Staten Island DA Michael McMahon. The pair of prosecutors denounced the state law that would eliminate cash bail for anyone charged with a misdemeanor or nonviolent felony, as well as some violent felonies. They also criticized a discovery reform measure that mandate prosecutors turn over evidence and other materials to defendants within 15 days of arraignment. 

“New Yorkers should prepare for literally thousands of criminals back in their communities,” Ryan said. 

McMahon joined Staten Island lawmakers in denouncing the reforms and calling for changes at a press conference earlier this month. 

“While there is no question some reform was needed to ensure fairness for all participants, this legislative package was poorly written and goes to the extreme, dangerously tilting the system against victims of crime and the community at large,” McMahon said. “This will undoubtedly hinder our ability to hold criminals accountable and to prosecute even the most heinous crimes.”

The Queens DA’s Office has published a map that they say plots the sites of more than 360 crimes allegedly committed by perpetrators who would be released under the bail reform measure. 

The map does not include the specific charges and the Queens DA’s Office has not yet provided that information to the Eagle. 

Ryan has been an outspoken opponent of the measures for months. He criticized one potential impact of the discovery reform law at a City Council Committee on the Justice System on May 22. The measure, he said, would enable defendants to get names and information about crime witnesses.

“How do you explain to the court that a witness in the Ravenswood Houses who [saw] a gang shooting is afraid to have her name revealed to the defendant?” Ryan said during his rapid testimony before the committee. “How do you put that reason for fear into a motion?”

He and other DAs, including McMahon, say the measures have not been properly funded by the state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has dismissed their concerns. 

Several proponents of the reform measures criticized the prosecutors for spreading fear.  

“No longer will defendants be starved of critical evidence in their cases, which has fueled wrongful convictions and cost taxpayers millions in civil settlements,” said the Chief Defenders Association of New York in a statement. “No longer will our bail laws allow the wealthy to go free pretrial while people in poverty are jailed for the exact same charges.”

“As defenders, we have been appalled as countless people have been forced to plead guilty, regardless of guilt or innocence, to get out of jail,” the organization added.

Public defender Scott Hechinger of the Brooklyn Defenders tweeted that the press conference and other efforts to derail the reforms “despicable & desperate fearmongering.”