The district attorneys for Manhattan and Brooklyn announced Tuesday their offices will no longer seek bail for most non-felony cases.
Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said his office will follow the new directive beginning Tuesday and no longer request cash bail in most misdemeanor and violation cases. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez’s office began the practice in April.
“Over the past eight years, we have made the advancement of criminal justice reform a part of the mission of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, right alongside our centuries-old founding mission of public safety,” Vance said in a statement.
“Our reform mission requires that we continually evaluate the justice system we have in the context of the City we are today, and identify practices which result in unfair or unnecessary consequences for New Yorkers accused of crimes, and for the strength of our communities.
“In light of our record-low crime, our national imperative for justice reform, and our moral, generational obligation to close Rikers, it is clear that ending cash bail is an idea whose time has come,” added Vance.
Vance’s office indicated it will continue to ask for bail in cases involving violence, domestic violence, sex crimes and cases involving injury against a police or peace officer. They will also request bail be set in cases in which the defendant has a previous felony conviction, has been convicted of a sex crime, has a pending felony case, or is on probation, parole, or supervised release.
“Bail shouldn’t be requested when we don’t intend to seek jail time and must never be used as leverage to obtain a guilty plea,” Brooklyn DA Gonzalez said in a statement following the announcement. “The goal is not to punish poor defendants accused of crimes, nor to disrupt lives, or interfere with jobs or education, but rather to make bail decisions that are fair and consistent with public safety.”
The announcement comes a week after Gov. Cuomo proposed legislation to eliminate cash bail for people facing misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges.
“Wealth should not be a factor in our criminal justice system,” Cuomo said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez joined this effort and took a huge step forward for justice and equality.”
Bronx DA Darcel Clark told the Citizen’s Crime Commission Tuesday that her office supports “bail reform.”
“If we are not asking for jail, then we should not be asking for bail,” Clark said. “For my ADAs, the default is no bail.”
Longtime Queens DA Richard brown said bail was “rarely” set in misdemeanor cases in his court, adding: “Our policy has been to seek bail when the defendant’s history and the circumstances of the case warrant it and, where appropriate, we will continue to do so.”
A spokesman from the Richmond County DA’s offices did not return a request for comment.