Bail training for judges on tap
Court system to institute annual training after push by New York lawmakers
ALBANY — New York judges are set to receive annual training on the state’s evolving and often controversial bail laws, according to Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas.
The training, which the Office of Court Administration framed as a “recommitment” to a “robust statewide program of judicial education,” comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul has continued to question whether judges are using their full discretion to set bail or jail someone when they are accused of crime while they await trial.
In her first two years as governor, Hochul, to the disdain of some members of her political party, pushed to broaden the ability for judges to detain people pretrial.
But in December, Hochul vetoed legislation that would have called for specific training on the bail laws. She pointed, in part, to the fact the Office of Court Administration “voluntarily committed to requiring additional judicial training.”
A month later, the court system quietly announced plans to require additional training for judges, following an amendment to the “rules of the chief judge” in January.
The Office of Court Administration did not respond to a request from the Times Union in February on whether the amendment was intended to specifically address questions around bail decisions by judges.
At the time, the newspaper reported that a judge in a widely followed case involving migrants pummeling police officers in New York City’s Times Square had the ability to set bail in that case but chose not to.
The amendment announced three months ago stated judges “shall attend any further courses, classes, seminars, trainings or other form of continuing education as shall be required” by the chief court administrator, when “necessary to promote the fair and efficient administration of justice.”
On Thursday, Zayas said in a news release announcing the bail training that he is “proud to place a renewed emphasis on meaningful education and training opportunities, especially training on an issue, like bail, that is so important to the fair and equitable functioning of our criminal justice system.”
The announcement came as Republicans renewed their criticism of the state’s bail laws after the death of a New York Police Department officer, 31-yearold Jonathan Diller, who prosecutors said was fatally shot by a man with a lengthy criminal history.
In prior budget cycles, Hochul has focused on amending the state’s bail laws. But in this year’s budget negotiations, ahead of an upcoming election, state Democratic lawmakers’ priorities have been less centered on criminal justice issues,
although Hochul is pushing for more substantial penalties for retail theft and hate crimes.
On retail theft, the Times Union found the use of bail in eligible larceny cases differed substantial by county, depending on the district attorney’s office and the judges presiding in those cases.
The newspaper’s findings, paired with an analysis of the assault charges in the Times Square incident, raised questions about whether the lack of bail setting in eligible cases was a byproduct of the application of the amended statutes by judges or because of decisions by prosecutors.
“We need district attorneys to ask for bail in baileligible cases,” Hochul said on MSNBC’S Morning Joe in February, speaking on the migrant Times Square assault case. “The judges ultimately have the discretion.”
The judge in the Times Square incident had almost always set bail when handling cases of defendants with similar charges. In that incident, the judge did not set bail and released the suspects after a prosecutor declined to ask for it. While police officials said the defendants had fled New York City, they all returned for their next court date.
Proponents of greater bail setting often cite the risk to public safety and continuing criminal conduct while a defendant is free awaiting trial on a charge. Advocates against defendants being detained pretrial often point to a presumption of innocence and the negative consequences of an individual spending time in jail, especially on Rikers Island in New York City, that could lead to further poverty and crime.
With the amended judicial training, judges in their first year on the bench or newly assigned to handle criminal cases are to complete four hours of bail instruction. Judges in their second year are to complete two hours of the training. All other judges handling criminal cases are to complete one hour of the training annually.
The court system is also planning training on the state’s pre-trial discovery laws. The Office of Court Administration did not indicate there will be any additional training for other criminal justice policies overhauled in recent years, including “Raise the Age,” which governs criminal cases involving teenagers.
Democratic lawmakers have been eager to require additional training at least on the state’s bail laws.
“It’s time for us to actually have mandates on the education and training that our judges have,” state Sen. Liz Krueger, Dmanhattan, said last year at a budget hearing in Albany.
In February, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-cousins continued to support her conference’s legislation seeking mandatory bail training.
“We thought the bill was needed because of what we’ve seen unfold,” Stewart-cousins said. “At this point I don’t have any reason to feel differently.”
Republicans have maintained their calls to rescind the changes to the bail statutes, or at least see substantial alterations. State Sen. Anthony Palumbo, the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Judiciary, previously described the rule amendment as “more cosmetic than anything.”
“Bail is not a tough thing,” said Palumbo, a former Long Island prosecutor. “It’s not as if this is rocket science.”