Reform in Action: Fact Sheets on Initial Findings by Area
In 2019, New York State passed one of the most ambitious reform packages in the country in an effort to create a fairer and more just system. In all, the laws shifted how the state’s 62 counties make pretrial decisions by:
Expanding eligibility criteria for appearance tickets, which are written notices to appear in court in response to an arrest as opposed to being booked into jail;
Restricting the use of cash bail for misdemeanors and most non-violent felonies;
Increasing the use of pretrial services and supervision to support individuals now able to await trial in the community; and
Overhauling requirements related to evidence sharing, also known as discovery, between prosecutors and defenders.
To examine how criminal legal system agencies put these reforms into practice, ISLG, through support from Arnold Ventures, conducted a process evaluation of these implementation efforts through combination of interviews, focus groups, document reviews, and data analyses. This series of fact sheets digs into each of these individual reforms and how agencies approached planning during the first several months of implementation, their perspectives on the successes and challenges of the changes, and the impacts on system processes and outcomes.
Overview
This fact sheet provides an overview of ISLG’s unpacking of the implementation of the different provisions of the 2019 reforms. It includes a look at substantive areas of New York’s legislation and provides an overview of stakeholder perspectives uncovered during the first stage of ISLG’s interviews and focus groups taking place between summer 2020 and summer 2021.
Expanding Pretrial Services
This fact sheet describes the expansion of pretrial services across New York State, with an emphasis on how New York City adapted and expanded its existing Supervised Release program to meet new requirements. When the legislature passed the reforms limiting the use of cash bail, other systems had to step up to work with those now awaiting case resolution in the community instead of in jail. Pretrial services was one of those systems - and to accommodate this influx, programs and stakeholders had to adapt quickly to skyrocketing participant numbers and evolving population needs. Through interviews with pretrial staff and participants, researchers found out how they did it.
Discovery
The legislation created more prescriptive guidelines around discovery procedures. Prosecutors are now required to share a broader scope of information with defenders earlier in the case, in an effort to increase transparency, reduce case processing times, shorten jail time, and ultimately lead to fairer case outcomes. This also meant huge operational shifts to process the additional discovery now required - or risk case dismissal.
Reducing Reliance on Bail
This fact sheet focuses on the implementation of bail reform, which created parameters around which charges bail could be used for. These reforms were crafted to create a more equitable system that balanced justice with equity for all New Yorkers despite their ability to pay. Through interviews with prosecutors, defense, and pretrial service providers, researchers uncovered what went right, wrong, and what unexpected outcomes occurred as part of the reforms.
Appearance Tickets
This fact sheet explores the implementation of the 2019 reforms related to issuing an appearance ticket (AT). These requirements spoke to the legislation’s goal of reducing reliance on detention by providing standardized guidance on ATs, which allow individuals to await resolution of their case while in the community—and stay connected to their support systems and jobs, and away from the many negative collateral impacts of incarceration.