Paulin Files Legislation To Amend Bail Reform

SCARSDALE, NY — Legislation to restore a judge's discretion about whether or not to require bail for criminal defendants who may pose a threat to public safety has been proposed in Albany. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, filed the legislation in the Assembly that would change the criminal procedure law to allow a court to make an individualized determination regarding how dangerous a particular defendant may be.

Corresponding legislation has been proposed in the state Senate.

Paulin said that with this amendment lawmakers have the opportunity to adjust bail reforms that were enacted last year.

"Bail reform needed to happen in the interest of justice and equal treatment of accused individuals but we must balance those objectives against the safety and security of our residents," she said.

Paulin pointed to an attack in Brooklyn where a 30-year-old woman was accused of attacking three Jewish women while shouting anti-Semitic epithets. The woman was released after being charged with attempted assault as a hate crime.

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One day later, the woman was arrested as the result of a similar unprovoked attack on another woman, and she was released again. In both cases the judge didn't have any discretion to detain the woman on bail.

Paulin said it wasn't until a third arrest a few days later that the woman was held pending a psychiatric evaluation.

"The good intentions of the pre-trial reforms that were passed in last year's budget unfortunately have come with some unintended consequences that need to be addressed immediately," she said.

Paulin said she was concerned that judges have lost the ability to impose bail on violent and potentially violent perpetrators of hate crimes and domestic violence.

"These types of crimes carry a high incidence of recurrence and escalation in severity," she said. "We cannot have a situation where the judiciary is handcuffed and the victims of crimes are left vulnerable and afraid."

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