BILL NUMBER: S32
SPONSOR: TEDISCO
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to setting bail
for defendants who pose a threat to public safety
 
PURPOSE:
To allow greater judicial discretion in setting a securing order with
respect to a defendant's prior felony convictions, failure to make an
appearance in court, or subsequent arrests while awaiting trial.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
§ 1: Amends subdivision 1 of section 510.10 of the criminal procedure
law, as amended by as amended by section 1 of subpart C of part UU of
chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, to allow a court to make an individual-
ized determination or it is demonstrated and the court makes an individ-
ualized determination based on the principal's record of a prior felony
conviction, a failure to appear in court or if the principal is arrested
during the interim period while awaiting a preliminary hearing or trial.
§ 2: Establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
One of several flaws in the far-reaching bail and discovery reform
legislation that was hastily passed in the 2019-2020 New York State
Budget, is the lack of judicial discretion to take all factors into
consideration when setting bail for criminal defendants.
It is both relevant and reasonable to consider past and present criminal
activity before releasing someone on their own recognizance pretrial.
While this legislation does not call for unbridled judicial discretion,
it does allow the courts to make an appropriate risk assessment based on
a defendant's prior felony conviction, or present behavior that breaks
the public trust.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
11/20/19: S.6861 REFERRED TO RULES
01/08/20: S.6861 REFERRED TO CODES
01/12/21: S.1521 REFERRED TO CODES
01/05/22: S.1521 REFERRED TO CODES
01/09/23: S.905 REFERRED TO CODES
01/03/24: S.905 REFERRED TO CODES
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.