State Attorney General Letitia James suggested she’s a strong booster of New York’s controversial no-cash bail law and said legislators should be “resisting the urge to overreact to spikes in crime” — by tightening the law without credible data.
James, the stop’s top law enforcement officer, was publicly mute this year during the bruising debate over whether to tighten the bail law — a tug-of-war involving Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul and leaders of the Democratic-run legislature.
But she commented on the explosive issue in an answer to an endorsement questionnaire from the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic LGBT Club.
“We must follow the data and really look at it from an analytical perspective. That means ensuring we are resisting the urge to overreact to spikes in crime that have occurred during this pandemic, without dismissing them outright,” James said.
“The challenge we have faced is getting accurate and complete data. The state Office of Court Administration released data at the end of December and had to immediately revise those numbers, which shows that we don’t yet have all of the information we need to guide us to a proper decision.”
She said she would pay “close attention” and work with the legislature to “make sure we are getting it right.”
James said she supports the premise behind the law, which eliminates cash bail for most defendants accused of misdemeanor and non-violent felony crimes. The laws bars the accused from being jailed pending trial simply because they couldn’t post bail.
“As a former public defender, I have seen firsthand how our criminal justice system has two standards for two different types of people: One for those with money and another for those without. It’s a system that for too long has criminalized poverty and mental illness,” James answered in the questionnaire from the Democratic club.
“We must be able to reform our criminal justice system while also keeping people safe. We can and should be able to do both because that’s what the public deserves.”
But James declined to discuss the recent revisions tightening the bail law, saying as the state’s chief lawyer she may have to defend it court.
The no-cash bail law has stirred controversy since it was approved by the Democratic-run legislature and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019.
It was James in January of 2020 who urged legislators to revisit the law amid opposition from law enforcement, saying then that “safety should be the first priority.”
Cuomo and lawmakers tweaked the law in April of 2020, adding a number of new crimes to be re-eligible for bail — including burglary in the second degree, promoting child pornography, and vehicular manslaughter, mostly associated with drunk-driving fatalities.
But pressure to restrict the bail law further raged in 2021 and this year, amid increases in violent crime in New York City and other parts of the state.
Last June, James blamed a surge in shootings on gun trafficking in other parts of the country and downplayed the impact of bail reform.
Her answer in the Jim Owles’ questionnaire appears to be her most extensive comments on the topic of bail this year.
Adams urged the legislature and Hochul to dramatically overhaul the no-cash bail law, including giving judges more discretion to impose bail on defendants by using a “dangerous standard.”
In a compromise, the governor and lawmakers tweaked the law to give judges more discretion in deciding bail for more offenses, including when a defendant has more than one case pending trial, for those with a history of using guns and whether they were previously charged or convicted of causing serious harm, or violating an order of protection.
Hate crimes and more gun offenses are also bailable offenses.
But lawmakers refused to introduce a “dangerousness” standard for bail consideration. New York’s bail laws have prohibited using dangerousness as a standard in setting bail since 1971.
