As New York has begun to implement the largest overhaul of its criminal justice laws in decades, the New York City Bar Association on Tuesday called on the state Legislature to build on those changes with a slew of other reforms intended to benefit defendants. 

Those changes were included in a list of priorities from the NYCBA for this year's legislative session, which is scheduled to start Wednesday in Albany.

Many of those initiatives haven't yet been seriously considered by members of the state Legislature, who had an appetite last year to enact changes in law that were intended to benefit defendants, particularly those wrongfully accused of a crime.

Among those changes, which took effect last week, were an end to the option of cash bail for most low-level and nonviolent charges. Defendants accused of those crimes can now remain out of jail before their trial date, rather than being kept behind bars in the meantime.

Lawmakers also enacted stricter rules on criminal discovery, or the exchange of information and evidence between prosecutors and the defense. Prosecutors now have to hand over that information within 15 days of a defendant's arraignment.

Those changes were largely intended to benefit individuals accused of a crime, but not yet convicted. The NYCBA is now pushing a handful of reforms that would provide new opportunities for individuals in the aftermath of a conviction.

One of those proposals would allow individuals convicted of a crime, and serving a period of 10 years or longer in prison, to ask a judge to have their sentence reduced partway through. Individuals would only be eligible if they have more than two years left in prison.

That proposal, called the Second Chance Amendment, would allow defendants to show that the sentence given to them was heavier than required for their individual circumstances. Judges would look at evidence of rehabilitation, as well as the unique factors of that case.

A second proposal supported by the NYCBA, called the Justice Safety Valve Act, is also intended to address prison sentences that may be perceived as excessive based on the specific facts of a case.

It would give judges and prosecutors the ability to impose and recommend sentences lighter than what's required under statutory guidelines. It would essentially allow judges to go below the mandatory minimum sentence set for a certain crime.

Judges would be allowed to do so, under the proposal, if there are substantial and compelling reasons that the mandatory minimum sentence wouldn't be required to ensure public safety, and wouldn't aid in the individual's rehabilitation. 

"This rigid sentencing structure leads to more people serving longer periods of incarceration which costs taxpayers more money and has not been shown to reduce recidivism," the NYCBA said in its legislative agenda.

Both the Second Chance Amendment and the Justice Safety Valve Act are legislative proposals developed by attorneys within the NYCBA.

Another policy measure supported by the NYCBA this year would allow mandatory court surcharges and fees to be waived for individuals who can't pay them.

Under current law in New York, a series of mandatory surcharges and fees are imposed on individuals by a judge when they're convicted of a crime or violation, whether they can pay those costs or not. The judge does not have discretion to waive those fees.

Those costs are intended to generate revenue. They're added to the state's coffers to be used elsewhere. The NYCBA, in its legislative agenda, said the state shouldn't be in the business of boosting funds by charging indigent individuals convicted of a crime.

"Given that the aims of the criminal justice system are in no way advanced by these mandatory surcharges and fees, the Legislature should simply abolish them for all those convicted of a crime or violation, or, at a minimum, restructure them to be imposed on a sliding scale consistent with an individual defendant's ability to pay," the NYCBA said.

If the state Legislature can't support eliminating the fees altogether, or placing them on a sliding scale, the NYCBA said it could enact changes that would, instead, allow sentencing judges to waive the costs, or do away with them in specific instances.

The NYCBA is also making another push this year for lawmakers in New York to legalize marijuana for nonmedical use.

The state Legislature failed to legalize the drug last year after lawmakers couldn't agree on a taxation structure, or where the revenue from sales would be diverted. They're expected to renew those efforts during this year's legislative session.

The NYCBA said in its legislative agenda that, at this point, there's virtually no benefit to maintaining a ban on the drug in New York.

"The failed policy has devastated families and communities, eroded respect for the law, and strained police-citizen relations," the NYCBA said.

Along with the drug's legalization, the NYCBA is pushing for lawmakers to reinvest revenue from sales into research, education, and communities impacted by the drug's prohibition. 

Any law that seeks to legalize marijuana in New York should also include a mechanism to provide for the expungement of marijuana-related convictions, the NYCBA said. Lawmakers, last year, allowed for the expungement of low-level offenses.

The NYCBA is also seeking to have lawmakers address a series of changes focused on the state's courts and legal industry.

Chief among them is an update to the state's laws on class action lawsuits, which haven't been comprehensively changed in decades. The NYCBA pushed for that reform last year, but fell short.

It supports aligning notice requirements for class actions with what's required at the federal level and providing more guidance over the appointment of class counsel. It is also seeking more flexibility over the state's current 60-day cap for moving to certify a class.

It is also in favor of restructuring and simplifying the state's trial courts, as proposed by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, and supports the state Office of Court Administration's budget request for the coming year.

This year's legislative session is scheduled to begin this week and run through early June.

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