P-J photo by Eric Tichy

The end of cash bail for those charged with most misdemeanor and non-violent felony offenses next year could mean a lot less people spending time in jail.

The New York State Legislature included criminal justice reform in its budget passed late Sunday. Perhaps the most significant change set to begin in January 2020 is the end of cash bail, meaning those charged with minor crimes will be released with instruction to return to court.

New York becomes the third state in the country to abolish cash bail to some degree. The long-held practice was viewed by many — including Chautauqua County Public Defender Ned Barone — as targeting the poor who are unable to post bail.

“This is a step in the right direction,” Barone said. “This will make a huge difference for the better.”

Barone said his office handles “thousands of cases a year” involving people who cannot afford to post bail. This creates layer of issues, he said, noting that people can lose jobs sitting in jail over minor crimes in addition to disruptions to family life.

The public defender said bail should not be used as a form of punishment, but rather a means to ensure court compliance.

“We get into situations where most of our clients are in jail for non-violent misdemeanors,” Barone said. “Say, for example, someone is brought to jail for petit larceny. If bail is set at $500, or even $100, it might as well be $1 million for most of our clients. … It’s truly not reasonable — it’s a complete injustice.”

It’s still unclear how the elimination of cash bail will impact the area. Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson said the issue he has with the law is that judges aren’t given the option of reviewing someone’s past record when determining whether to remand someone to jail or to release them with appearance tickets.

“The major problem with the bill is that there is no real discretion given to judges if the offender has a violent past, is a repeat offender or has made threats in the current case,” Swanson told The Post-Journal. “There should be the ability for judges to consider the safety of the community. We are one of the only states that does not have that in our bail statute.”

“The ramifications of the new changes are great, and not in a good way,” Swanson continued.

Barone said he strongly disagreed with the DA’s position. He said someone’s past record shouldn’t be a deciding factor, especially if “debts to society have already been paid.”

“They’ve already served,” Barone said. “They’ve done their time, paid their price through incarceration, probation, parole, paying fines. I disagree with the DA, and his point runs contrary to the reality of where things are going.”

Last week, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office released a statement calling for “sensible changes” to the bail system. The District Attorneys Association of New York, the New York State Sheriffs’ Association and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police supported the idea of automatic release for most charged with low-level offenses.

“However, these law enforcement organizations believe that this presumption should be allowed to be rebutted for certain crimes or where there is a significant risk that a defendant will not return to court,” the statement read. “In addition, with regard to the public safety of our residents and visitors, a judge should be permitted to consider whether a defendant poses a credible risk to an identifiable person or group of persons.”

Included in the budget is the requirement that officers issue appearance tickets rather than take someone into custody for low-level crimes.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers will also be required to share all pre-trial information (also known as discover) and further ensure a defendant’s right to a speedy trial.

Legislators also approved a measure that continues to allow public access to arrest booking information but halts the routine release of mug shots by state law enforcement agencies. According to the Associated Press, Cuomo sought the prohibition on releasing booking photographs to keep them from appearing on “unscrupulous websites” that post the images then charge to have them removed from the internet.