Gov says judges & DAs not following new laws

Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams claimed to be on the same page when it comes to New York’s bail laws Wednesday despite offering opposing takes on overhauling reforms.

The governor (photo) pushed back on criticism of the state’s cashless bail system, calling out judges and prosecutors for not following the law while Adams once again pleaded with lawmakers to go back to the drawing board.

“I am aware of the mayor’s press conference and I absolutely support his interest in getting the judges to follow the law,” Hochul told reporters during an unrelated presser at her Manhattan office.

Adams, meanwhile, repeated calls to further roll back bail reforms, jail more repeat offenders and grant judges the ability to detain more people pretrial.

The mayor joined NYPD brass for an afternoon news conference at 1 Police Plaza to call out repeat offenders who he said are taking advantage of the current system and committing a disproportionate amount of crime in the Big Apple.

“This is not an attack on righteous reforms, this is an attack on those who are exploiting the reforms,” he said. “We have to get it right. We’re talking about public safety, and when you talk about public safety and justice you can’t be ashamed to say let’s tweak to get what we want to get.”

Earlier, the governor defended changes already made as part of the state budget this year that expanded the list of bail eligible crimes and made it so judges have more authority to set bail when dealing with repeat offenders.

“I encourage everybody in the entire ecosystem related to public safety, starting with law enforcement and our district attorneys and our judges, to review the bail laws that were enacted in the budget,” she said. “Every one of those changes gives them the tools they need to work toward our common objective of increasing public safety.”

Hochul suggested “continuing education programs” or more briefings from the state to ensure judges understand the current law.

New York’s cashless bail system, enacted in 2019 and amended twice already, has remained a flash point in Empire State politics, with critics on both sides of the aisle linking the changes to upticks in crime.

Supporters argue that there is no connection and cite data collected by the state that show a decline in rearrests since 2020.

“It’s unclear on what the mayor is basing his claims because NYPD has not publicly released the underlying data,” said Jullian Calvin-Harris, program director at the Vera Institute of Justice. “The data we do have, released by the Office of Court Administration, show that bail reform is working to reduce wealth-based incarceration and to protect public safety.”

Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk), have hammered Democrats over the reforms and made public safety the cornerstone of campaigns in recent years.

Adams has joined the GOP in calling for a special legislative session to expand judicial authority by allowing judges to consider “dangerousness” when setting bail.

Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) have said there is no need to reconvene for a special session.

Adams said police are doing the work, making more gun arrests and 29% more arrests for seven major felonies this year, but added that he believes prosecutors, judges and legislators have dropped the ball.

“Our criminal justice system is insane ... and dangerous. It is harmful, and it is destroying the fabric of our city,” he said.