It has now been several weeks since Gov. Cuomo put his signature on New York’s bail reform law. This hastily passed law has had a major negative impact on the quality of life here in Nassau County, to say the least, as it has taken judicial discretion from our jurists.
I have just finished viewing a YouTube video recorded live and uploaded on Jan. 17, 2020. You can find it online by searching for “COBA Bail Reform Carle Place Civic Association”. Our Nassau County Police Commissioner, Pat Ryder, offers some graphic examples of how the law has failed to accomplish its goals without much collateral fallout.
Previously, when someone was arrested, they would have to appear before a judge, and a decision would be made at that time whether there was a flight risk, a danger to the community, or a criminal history that would warrant remand to a holding cell pending arraignment. This allowed a judge to make that decision based on factual evidence. In many of these cases, the judge had the discretion to decide based on these factors whether an appearance ticket and release was sufficient. This is called logic, the public interest is the first consideration.
In the interest of reducing the cost of holding prisoners, and to reduce the costs associated with incarceration, blanket reform was enacted by our progressive fiscal watchdogs and lawmakers, predominantly from the left side of the aisle, with little regard to consequences. Now it becomes necessary to deal with the aftermath of their ill-thought-out decision. A bill to reform the reform law has been offered by NY state Sen. Tedisco, and it has now made it through the Senate Rules Committee to the Senate floor. A ‘same as’ bill has been presented to the NY Assembly for their consideration. This is a ‘damage control’ measure to restore judicial discretion to the courts and try to restore some measure of control to our legal system.
Knowing that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, I urge my fellow New Yorkers to contact their Senators to support and pass S.6861, and to contact their Assemblymen and women to support the ‘same as’ bill A.9047.
When this is accomplished, the task continues, and we must convince our governor to sign the reform legislation into law and return sanity to our legal system.
Eric Spinner
New Hyde Park
