By Daniel Wiessner
ALBANY, N.Y., Feb 5 (Reuters) - New York Chief Judge
Jonathan Lippman on Tuesday urged lawmakers to overhaul the
state's bail laws, saying the current system is unfair to
indigent defendants charged with low-level crimes.
During his annual State of the Judiciary speech, Lippman
called for legislation that would authorize judges to consider
public safety when deciding whether a defendant should be
released or held on bail and create a statutory presumption that
a person charged with a non-violent crime would be released,
unless a prosecutor could show that the person was a flight risk
or threat to public safety.
New York is one of only four states that prohibits judges
from using public safety as a factor when making a bail
determination, Lippman said.
Currently, he said, many non-violent defendants who do not
pose a threat to the public languish in jail because they cannot
afford bail.
"This makes no sense and certainly does not serve the best
interests of our communities and our citizens," Lippman said
during the speech, which he delivered at the Court of Appeals in
Albany.
He also urged lawmakers to pass legislation permitting the
use of cameras in state courtrooms.
Lippman's call for bail reform comes one week after the U.S.
Conference of Chief Justices unanimously approved a resolution
urging states to limit the use of pretrial detention to
defendants who are considered flight risks or pose a threat to
public safety.
Lippman said it was a "travesty" that, in many cases, a bail
bondsman makes the final decision as to whether a defendant will
be released, rather than judges or prosecutors. The legislation
he proposed could render the bail bonds industry irrelevant, he
said.
Lippman also said that the legislature should expand the
supervision of defendants who are released without bail. For
instance, judges should be empowered to impose curfews or order
defendants to undergo drug testing and treatment.
TRANSPARENCY
Steven Banks, the attorney-in-chief of the Legal Aid
Society, said in an interview that he supported Lippman's bail
proposals. Many of Legal Aid's clients cannot afford even modest
bail, and that being held in jail often has a negative impact on
their cases, he said.
The chief judge on Tuesday also urged state lawmakers to
pass legislation permitting the use of cameras in courtrooms.
Currently, judges may only permit cameras in a case in which
witnesses have not been ordered to testify. Lippman said he
wants the law changed so that cameras would be allowed in most
cases.
New York did have such a law, but it expired in 1997.
Lippman said that smartphones and other innovations have made it
easy to record court proceedings and that allowing cameras in
court would enhance transparency and help engage the public.
"It is vital that concerned citizens, bombarded with crime
shows and court dramas that do not provide a reliable
representation of the justice system, have the fullest access to
the real thing," he said during the speech.
Lippman also renewed his push to raise New York's age of
criminal responsibility to 18 and called for reforms designed to
curb wrongful convictions.
He also announced that going forward, attorneys will be
required to report all pro bono work they perform. The reporting
will be a part of the existing biannual registration process.
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