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Prosecutors & Public Defenders Say New Criminal Justice Reforms Need Money To Work
By
Beth Fertig
and
WNYC Staff
Published May 23, 2019
Modified May 23, 2019
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Seth Wenig/AP/Shutterstock
By
Beth Fertig
and
WNYC Staff
Published May 23, 2019
Modified May 23, 2019
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Now that the state has passed a sweeping package of criminal justice reforms that will go into effect in January, New York City's prosecutors and public defenders alike say that more resources are needed to ensure the laws truly work as intended.
The package approved by Albany last month eliminates cash bail for most criminal charges. It also requires prosecutors and the defense to share evidence (discovery) within 15 days of an arraignment. This includes grand jury transcripts, the names and contact information of witnesses, and electronic recordings.
At a city council justice committee hearing on Wednesday, district attorneys said they’ll need extra funds to turn over discovery quickly and safely. Bronx DA Darcel Clark said her office would need an estimated $610,000 to pay for 10 additional detectives to protect witnesses because they're already often intimidated.
"I had witnesses that have been threatened in court, outside of court, on social media, their personal information out there," she said. "And they become afraid to continue to cooperate."
The state's district attorneys association had opposed the new legislation for this reason. At the council's committee hearing, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez — whose office already shares discovery with defendants in many cases — agreed victims of crime will feel anxious about having their information shared with defense attorneys. He suggested a solution: an online portal through which the defense can contact witnesses in a manner that doesn't reveal any personal identifying information.
"The technology is currently available and could be used by all DAs offices in the city," he said. "But resources are needed to create and maintain that system."
Currently, Gonzalez said most cases don't require full discovery sharing. Providing evidence within 15 days of all arraignments will put a strain on police labs and medical examiners, he said, as well as those who transcribe recordings made by body cameras worn by police. Gonzalez said additional staffing and technology are needed to help all of these parties work faster.
But the DAs had no firm estimates for how much money they'll need. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said, "it's going to be millions of dollars” to fund discovery reform and to expand pre-trial services for defendants no longer subject to cash bail.
City Hall didn’t have any answers, either.
Susan Sommer, general counsel to the Mayor's Office for Criminal Justice, praised the new reforms passed by Albany. She said her office has been having meetings with the district attorneys and other stakeholders. “We stand at a moment of tremendous opportunity and we readily accept our shared responsibility and our leadership,” she added.
But when the council’s Justice Committee chair Rory Lancman asked if any funds will be added to the mayor’s budget before the end of June, Sommer said, “We are very actively involved in assessing what the costs might be in working with our partners.”
Public defenders also shared their concerns during the council hearing. Yung-Mi Lee of Brooklyn Defender Services said she wanted to make sure judges truly consider the least restrictive alternatives now that cash bail will be ended for those accused of most offenses. She worried about potential privacy violations if electronic monitoring with GPS becomes the preferred course of action, and said radio frequency monitoring at home for curfew times is less intrusive.
Others said the city should expand pre-trial services — such as cell phones and free transit cards — to ensure people come to court. And they said the supervised release program, which covers about 4,500 people a year, should include those charged with more serious crimes to be a real alternative to cash bail.
The state legislation didn’t include any money for pre-trial services or discovery sharing. But proponents of the law expected it would save money on jail by eliminating cash bail, and that those funds could be used for additional programs.
Beth Fertig is a senior reporter covering courts and legal affairs at WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @bethfertig.
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