The New York City Bar Association has a focus on state as well as municipal issues, and in early 2024 announced its state legislative agenda. Among its major planks is repealing a state cap on Supreme Court justices and implementing ways of evaluating judicial needs that is flexible, evidence-based, and reflects contemporary best practices. Other primary goals include enacting the bill package Communities Not Cages. The trio of sentencing reform bills do away with mandatory minimum sentencing, shifting the focus to the individual considered, rather than simply applying a predetermined sentence. Those with lengthy sentences and presently incarcerated would also gain avenues for petitioning judges and receiving sentence reductions. Credit could also be earned that would reduce sentences through prison rule compliance and participating in vocational training, educational, and work programs. The NYC Bar also supports the New York Elder Parole Bill, which stipulates that, upon turning 55, those who have served 15 years or more in prison have a Board of Parole interview to assess if they are eligible for release to community supervision. Finally, the proposed Treatment Not Jail Act delivers off-ramps from the prison system for those with substance use and mental health issues that could better be treated elsewhere.
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AuthorDyan Gershman, Founder and Partner of Gershman Law, PLLC. Archives
April 2022
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