NYCLA’s Criminal Justice Section had an interesting presentation about bail system in the New York City on December 8, 2011. According to one of the panelist, Mary Phillips, the monetary bail requirement does have a statistically significant effect on the defendants, making certain that they return to court for further proceedings. The monetary amount of bail, however, has a lesser significance. Mary Phillips report is available here.
Additionally, it was noted at the meeting, that only two of nine authorized type of bonds are commonly used: cash and insurance company bond. One of the suggested reasons was the lack of judicial and administrative familiarity of personnel with other types of bonds. The nine types of bonds (see N.Y. CPL. LAW § 520.10.) are:
(a) Cash bail.
(b) An insurance company bail bond
(c) A secured surety bond.
(d) A secured appearance bond.
(e) A partially secured surety bond.
(f) A partially secured appearance bond.
(g) An unsecured surety bond.
(h) An unsecured appearance bond.
(i) Credit card.
Other useful things to keep in mind when filing application or arguing a bond amount are:
- Purpose and the criteria of the bond. N.Y. CPL. LAW § 510.30. As well as, inability to (explicitly) consider public safety and inability to make bail.
- ABA 10-1.4(e) pretrial release standards. “The judicial officer should not impose a financial condition of release that results in the pretrial detention of a defendant solely due to the defendant’s inability to pay.”
- Supervised pretrial release, which is available in Queens only for non-felony defendants.
- Future changed circumstances for bail
