The Importance of Bail Hearings in New York City Criminal Cases

The Importance of Bail Hearings in New York City Criminal Cases

When someone is arrested in New York City on a criminal charge, one of the first things that happens is a bail hearing. This is when the judge decides whether the defendant should be released from jail before their trial, or if they have to stay locked up. Bail hearings are super important, because they can totally change the course of a case.

Lots of people don’t really understand how bail works. They think it’s just about having enough money to pay your way out of jail. But it’s more complicated then that. This article will break down what happens at bail hearings in NYC, and why they’re so crucial.

What is Bail?

When someone gets arrested, the court sets an amount of bail money the defendant has to pay to get out of jail before their trial. Defendants can pay the bail amount themselves, or use a bail bondsman who will post the bail for a fee.

If the defendant pays the bail and shows up for all their court dates, they get the money back at the end of the case. But if they miss a court date, the court keeps the bail money.

The purpose of bail is to make sure defendants come back to court when their supposed to. The idea is that putting up a chunk of money motivates people to come to court so they don’t lose the cash.

How Does the Judge Decide Bail?

At the bail hearing, the judge looks at a bunch of factors to determine the bail amount, including:

• The charges against the defendant – More serious charges often mean higher bail.
• The defendant’s criminal record – People with long rap sheets tend to get higher bail.
• The defendant’s ties to the community – Strong family, job, and housing ties can mean lower bail.
• The defendant’s financial resources – Judges look at what the defendant can realistically afford.
• The flight risk – How likely is the defendant to run away and not come back to court?

Judges have a lot of discretion in setting bail. They can choose between releasing the defendant without bail, setting a cash bail amount, or holding the defendant in jail without bail (called “remand”).

Why Bail Matters

The bail decision is super important because it determines whether the defendant stays locked up or gets released. This impacts everything:

• Ability to assist in the defense – It’s a lot harder to meet with your lawyer and build your case from jail.
• Plea bargaining leverage – Prosecutors often offer better plea deals to defendants who are stuck in jail to motivate them to plead guilty.
• Psychological impact – Being incarcerated before trial can mess with people’s mental health and impact their judgment.
• Trial strategy – Juries are less likely to view defendants favorably if they show up to court in jail clothes and handcuffs.
• Sentencing – Judges impose lighter sentences on defendants who make all their court dates versus those who miss dates.
• Collateral consequences – Pleading guilty can impact things like immigration status, public housing, or occupational licenses down the road.

Bail hearings tip the scales of justice heavily in favor of those who can afford to pay their bail. People with money can pay, get out of jail, and have a big advantage fighting their cases. Meanwhile, poor defendants get stuck behind bars.

One study found that people held on bail were over 25% more likely to plead guilty, over 40% more likely to be sentenced to jail, and received sentences over twice as long as those released pretrial.

Controversies Around Cash Bail

Cash bail systems have been criticized a ton in recent years. Reformers argue that locking people up based on what’s in their bank account is unfair and leads to mass incarceration.

We see these bail controversies play out in New York City all the time. Like in 2020 when protesters flooded the streets after the police killing of George Floyd. The NYPD made over 2000 protest-related arrests, and protesters accused the courts of setting high cash bails to keep them locked up.

There’s also been lawsuits challenging the NY bail system. In 2020, a lawsuit argued that setting high bails for people charged with non-violent crimes violated their rights. The case led to some temporary changes, like courts more often releasing people on their own recognizance instead of setting bail.

Reformers want more fundamental changes, like getting rid of cash bail completely or making it so only dangerous defendants can be detained pretrial.

Bail Reform Efforts

New York lawmakers have passed several bills recently trying to reform the bail system:

• 2019 – New York passed a law eliminating cash bail for most non-violent charges.
• 2020 – Lawmakers rolled back parts of the 2019 law after some defendants were rearrested on serious charges. Judges now have more discretion to set bail on a broader list of charges.
• 2022 – The state budget included provisions allowing judges to consider a defendant’s dangerousness and risk to public safety when setting bail, instead of just focusing on flight risk.

These changes show how controversial and politically tricky bail reform can be. Lawmakers are balancing public safety concerns with calls for an equitable justice system.

The Bottom Line

Bail hearings have huge impacts for NYC defendants. The ability to get out of jail pretrial shapes everything about the case. Languishing in jail stacks the deck against poor defendants, while those with cash bail out and fight from a position of strength.

The bail reform debate will surely continue as lawmakers try to strike a balance. But for now, anyone facing criminal charges in New York needs to understand that the bail hearing is one of the most critical parts of their case.