42 DECEMBER 19, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Bail reform forum pits DA’s offi ce against advocates
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
When Queens Community
Board 9 hosted a forum
to inform Kew Gardens
residents about the impact of the bail
reform legislation on Monday evening,
they invited outspoken critics of the
legislation. Then an unexpected thing
happened.
Of the 20-30 people who braved the
rain to attend the forum, about a third
consisted of public defenders who
came out to challenge the critique of
the legislation as presented by Councilman
Robert Holden and Queens
Senior Executive Assistant District
Attorney James Quinn.
Aft er they had fi nished their presentation
arguing that the legislation
would drive up crime rates, the
advocates responded with a series of
questions and comments that pushed
back on the notion of jail as the answer
to social problems.
The legislation, which will go into
eff ect Jan. 1 aft er being passed in last
year’s state budget negotiations, eliminates
judges’ ability to set bail cash
bail and pretrial detention for nearly
all misdemeanor and nonviolent
felony cases, as well as violent felonies
limited to burglary and robbery in the
second degree.
In his presentation, Quinn raised
the concern that judges will not have
the discretion to set bail based on a
person’s previous arrests or convictions.
He also raised alarms over the
number of people who would be released
from their bail sentence when
the law goes into eff ect. He referenced
a study that estimated the number of
people who would be released from
bail for misdemeanor and felony arrests
in Queens at over 200.
“Among those 200 people, 39 of those
are charged with burglary in the
second degree, which is a residential
burglary — someone coming into your
house — into your dwelling to steal
something or is in there to commit a
crime,” said Quinn.
Quinn went on to argue that bills
were passed “in the middle of the
night,” and that he had talked to several
legislators who were not aware
of what was in the law, but neglected
to name who those legislators were.
Holden, for his part, dismissed proponents
of the bill as people who are
too young to remember crime-ridden
New York of the 1970s.
Roslyn Morrison, a Legal Aid Society
attorney who had helped shape the
legislation, argued that the bill was actually
carefully vetted and compared
it to bail reform laws in states like New
Jersey, which did not lead to a spike in
the crime rate or disruption of public
safety.
“We’re trying to prevent mass
incarceration,” said Morrison. “The
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
presumption of innocence has a place
crime rate is coming down because
in our society, and it’s one that we have
of the police department is being extremely
to respect. A lot of people particularly,
eff ective.”
people of color and people without fi -
But despite the sparring back
nancial resources are unduly harmed
and forth between Quinn and the
by the current bail system.”
advocates, several members of the
Quinn fi red back at this comment.
community board who thought that
“Mass incarceration — I’m so tired
the bail law was going too far were
of hearing this. New York City has the
able to come to an agreement with the
lowest incarceration rate of any major
public defenders that the city needs
city in the entire U.S.,” he said. “The
to fi nd alternative ways to address
systemic social problems outside of
incarceration.
“Forty-two percent of the people of
the people who are being incarcerated
are mentally ill,” said Sylvia Hack, cochair
of the CB9 Land Use Committee
that invited Quinn and Holden. “So why
are we spending billions to incarcerate
people who are mentally ill when we
need to get to the bottom of why this is
happening in the fi rst place,” she said.
Miller attends PS 97’s annual STEAM Night
Assemblyman Mike Miller attended PS 97’s 3rd Annual STEAM Night, which is an annual event that
focuses on science, technology, engineering, art and math. “I always enjoy attending STEAM Night,” said
Miller. “This event is a fun way for students to learn and teach each other through stories and activities.”
Courtesy of Miller’s offi ce
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