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Gov’s newest jail reform faces strong opposition

Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks Aug. 7, 2018, at the Hotel Saranac in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

ALBANY — County sheriffs say they have strong reservations about elements of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to to slash the use of jailhouse detention of people charged with most misdemeanor and non-violent felony offenses, contending it would jeopardize public safety.

The governor has included what he calls his 2019 Pre-trial Justice Reform Act as part of an agenda of reform legislation he wants to enact during the current legislative session.

Hackles raised

While the New York Sheriffs Association has not issued its final response to the plan, the group’s associate counsel, Alex Wilson, said it has already identified several major areas of concern.

“One thing that has really raised the hackles of sheriffs in the governor’s proposal is that it would require police officers to issue appearance tickets instead of effecting a custodial arrest in certain circumstances,” Wilson said.

“That is a pretty serious curtailment of a police officer’s discretion. They would be compelled to issue an appearance ticket for most misdemeanors.”

Can’t afford bail

If those individuals who get tickets rather than be brought to an arraignment immediately eventually fail to appear in court, it could strain the ability of police agencies to locate them, Wilson and others noted.

Cuomo’s proposal was promoted at a Jan. 29 state budget hearing by Michael Green, commission of the governor’s Division of Criminal Justice Services.

“The majority of people in New York’s jails are held because they cannot afford to post bail,” Green advised lawmakers.

“This current system is unfair to those who lack financial resources.”

Safety safeguards

Green suggested the plan comes equipped with public safety safeguards, noting the proposal allows judges to hold a defendant in jail at the request of prosecutors in cases of domestic violence or another serious violent crime.

Those who skip court appearances or commit another crime while on pretrial release could also be locked up, said the former district attorney.

Needs cautious look

County prosecutors are also weighing in on the Cuomo proposal, as well as one that has been advanced in both houses of the Legislature.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who heads the state’s District Attorneys Association, suggested to lawmakers that the proposals should be cautiously evaluated and not be included in the negotiations for the state spending plan, which is slated to be enacted by April 1.

“If we have a system that is releasing people who are accused of misdemeanor and other violations, we must have a system that includes drug and alcohol evaluation, services and followup,” Soares said, adding there should also be money provided to cover extradition costs should accused individuals leave the state.

While agreeing that problems with the bail system are “worth examining,” Soares took direct aim at a central argument of advocates for an end to cash bail for many offenses by stating that “only a small fraction of those charged with minor crimes or some major ones are being held in jails because of a failure to make bail.”

Judge discretion

Cuomo made a similar proposal last year but it was bottled up in the state Senate.

The upper house is now under Democratic control as a result of last November’s “blue wave” election.

Opponents of the governor’s proposal are expected to ratchet up the pressure on freshmen Democrats from Long Island who have expressed more moderate views on criminal justice matters than their New York City counterparts who are allied with Cuomo on the issue.

Michelle Esquenazi, who heads the state Bail Bondsmen Association and runs a bail firm in Brooklyn, said her group would support some reforms if they ensured “accountability” in the criminal justice system, with the benefits being aimed at first-time offenders whose alleged offenses did not harm other individuals.

“I would never be OK with legislating out the judiciary,” she said, contending that a system that affords judges discretion to jail a defendant due to public safety concerns best protects communities.

Could include rape

She argued that New Yorkers would be aghast at some of the offenses that, under Cuomo’s proposal, would allow individuals to be ticketed, rather than have bail set at an arraignment.

“I don’t think the people of the state of New York are aware that a misdemeanor could be someone having sex with a corpse,” she said.

“I don’t think that the people are aware that a nonviolent offense can be rape in the third degree.”

Gift to GOP

Esquenazi said the debate is infused with major political ramifications.

“If the Democrats pass this, it will be the best gift they could ever give to the Republicans,” she said.

“They might as well wrap it up in a Tiffany box with a bow on it because it is going to blow up in their faces.”

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