October 21, 2013 Workshop Session II, 11:30-12:45 BAIL DECISIONS IN NEW YORK

Mary T. Phillips, Ph.D. Deputy Director of Research, CJA To download reports: CJA NEW YORK CITY CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY, INC. Jerome E. McElroy Executive Director

Statutory Framework Public Safety 4 states have no requirement that courts consider public safety when setting bail: NY, CT, MS, MO In DV cases only, NY courts must consider a violation of an order of protection & prior weapon possession. Preventive Detention 28 states do not authorize preventive detention (denial of bail in non-capital cases to address public safety concerns): NY & 27 other states NY & PA allow denial of bail in felony cases to ensure court attendance; 5 other states (of the 28) allow denial of bail under very restrictive conditions.

PART 1 HOW NEW YORK CITY COMPARES WITH OTHER LARGE U.S. CITIES Source for national data: 2006 State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) A sample of felony cases from 75 of the largest urban counties Source for NYC data: CJA 2006 arrests

How New York City Compares With Other Large U.S. Cities (Felony cases) (A) Release Rates Percent released Type of release (% of all continued cases)(% of released pretrial) 2006 State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS)

How New York City Compares With Other Large U.S. Cities (Felony cases) (B) Type of release Type of non-financial release Type of financial release (% of non-financial release)(% of financial release) 2006 State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS)

How New York City Compares With Other Large U.S. Cities (Felony cases) (C) Bail amount 2006 State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) Mean and median bail amount set at arraignment

How New York City Compares With Other Large U.S. Cities (Felony cases) (D) Pretrial misbehavior FTARe-ArrestFelony Re-Arrest 2006 State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) (Only Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan are included in NYC)

Summary (Felonies, national comparisons) Compared to the rest of the country, felony defendants in NYC are more likely: to be released; to be released without conditions; to have lower bail set; to post bail in cash, not by commercial bond. FTA: similar. Re-arrest: higher overall, similar for re-arrest on a felony.

PART 2 MISDEMEANOR & LESSER OFFENSES Bail, release, & detention in New York City Source: CJA 2012 arrests

24,570 cases were continued with a defendant who was held on bail at arraignment 2,981 were able to post bail at arraignment (11% of cases with bail set) Misdemeanors & Lesser Offenses New York Cit y (A) Release at arraignment N = 125,806 Cases continued past arraignment in Criminal Court CJA 2012 annual dataset Held on bail 20% Made bail 2%

Misdemeanors & Lesser Offenses New York City (B) Release prior to disposition Among those not released at arraignment, more than half stayed in jail until the case was disposed. N = 24,570 Cases with a defendant who was held on bail at arraignment Released pretrial, 46% NOT released pretrial, 54% CJA 2012 annual dataset

Misdemeanors & Lesser Offenses New York City 2012 Arrests (C) Detention length N = 24,570 N = 13,238 N = 11,332 CJA 2012 annual dataset Median number of days

Misdemeanor & Lesser Offenses New York City (D) Bail amount CJA 2012 annual dataset All cases with bail set (N=23,799) 30% 68% 83%

Misdemeanor & Lesser Offenses New York City (E) Release For Bail set $500 or less (N=7,029) Median length of detention = 5 days CJA 2012 annual dataset

Misdemeanor & Lesser Offenses New York City (F) Why was bail set? N = 24,570 Cases with a defendant who was held on bail at arraignment

Summary (Misdemeanors, NYC) Excellent chance of ROR: But bail is set 22% of the time, in nearly 25,000 cases. Very low bail: Nearly a third of bail amounts are $500 or less. But when bail is set, the chance of release is not good: Only 11% make bail at arraignment. More than half of the detainees are not released pretrial, and stay in jail for substantial period of time. Even at $500 or less, nearly half not released pretrial.

Explanations for detention: The majority are at high risk of FTA. Of the rest, about half are charged with a violent offense or have a prior felony conviction. In nearly 3,000 cases the defendant was arrested on a nonviolent charge, had no prior felony conviction, and was recommended for release. Summary (continued) (Misdemeanors, NYC)

ABA Standards for Criminal Justice Third Edition (2007), Pretrial Release Presumption of release Wide range of supervised release options Consideration of unsecured bonds or 10% deposit bonds Release on bail only when no other conditions will ensure appearance Bail set at the lowest level necessary to ensure the defendant’s appearance Financial conditions should not be employed to respond to concerns for public safety. Bail should not be imposed that results in the pretrial detention of a defendant solely due to the defendant’s inability to pay. Abolition of compensated sureties