NYCLU Statement in Response to Attacks on Pre-Trial Reforms

NEW YORK – Earlier this year, New York passed sweeping reforms that will significantly reduce the reliance on cash bail to determine a person’s liberty, expand criminal discovery, and further enforce the right to a speedy trial.

Today, the New York State Sheriffs Association, the State Associations of District Attorneys, and chiefs of police held press conferences across the state attacking these reforms and calling on the legislature to delay their implementation.

The New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement from Policy Counsel, Nicole Triplett:

“Today’s efforts to derail much-needed changes to our criminal legal system is a sad attempt to disrupt a pathway to justice. To suggest that we should maintain the status quo and continue to criminalize and warehouse people due to the size of their bank account is not a form of justice, and we must not heed to the handful of people who insist that it is.

“Lawmakers must continue to listen to the resounding calls from community members about the need to reduce our reliance on jails and end the criminalization of poverty.”