NY Judge says liberty should depend on money...
By Thom Hartmann A...
New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippmann is refusing to wait on Congress to reform our broken bail system.
Last week, Judge Lippmann said, “Defendants who are unable to post bail serve a sentence before their cases are ever resolved.” And, he added, “They do so regardless of innocence or guilt, and the harm that this injustice causes is intolerable.”
That's why Judge Lippmann announced that he will use his legal authority to set up automatic bail reviews for everyone brought in for misdemeanor charges.
Although he can't change national policy, Judge Lippman's new guidelines will require all New York state judges reconsider bail amounts within 10 days, and he will urge them to consider affordable alternatives to high bail costs as well.
He said, “It is fundamentally unfair for a person's liberty to be all about how much money you have.” And he is exactly right.
Our entire Justice System is biased against those who can't afford a strong defense, and Judge Lippman's policy is one strong step towards re-balancing the scales of justice.
Comments
#2
I have a crazy radical idea. Stay out of jail. Obey the law and you have a very good chance of not doing any time. Just what New York needs, more criminals on the street. When they get out on bail NY state should give them all a mask and a gun. Not only rich poeple should be able to rob banks.
#3
Whereas I can agree with most parts of comments # 1 and 2 above, with also factoring in that I (and the Mrs) would be considered as being Reagan type conservatives... But even with that, Thom's show (that we hear on kpfk in S. Ca.) convinced us to support Bernie Sanders, as the next "best hope" for this America!! That we as immingrants had come to love, but have been victimized by a morally bankrupt judicial system here in a Right-wing dominated section of California; that has a Judicial (Superior Court) system) that could use the like of that N.Y. Judge, that would put The Rule of Law ahead of "lets lock the bastids up "mentality"!! Which (in effect) we here in Norco, Ca. have been subjected to for 25+ years..... And rather than try to explain here, I/we will reveal the saudid details to Thom, via his best buddy Louise's contact #... And it will be up to Thom to decide if he wants the details or not???
#4
Thom, you need a "not" in the title.
kend, You clearly missed the line "regardless of innocence or guilt". What is it with conservatives not understanding why the bill of rights includes rights for the accused? Watch Last Week Tonight, ep. 2-16 and maybe you'll start to understand why excessive bail is harmful to society.
#5
Excessive bail, UNC. Excessive. If someone turns out to be innocent, credit for time served doesn't help. The time served often ruins their lives--over nothing.
#6
Bail is not harmful it ensures that the accused show up for his court appearances if they don't and are in a habit of missing court and the NYPD or the Marshals service has to bring them in I have no problem with them spending time in Rikers Island. They already get credit for time served so what time they spend in pretrial confinement is deucted from thier sentence. So they spend less time in jail. A good start for preventing crime would be repealing the Timothy Sullivan act of 1911. Sullivan was corrupt Tammany Hall politician who was paraniod about being assassinated so his bright idea was to ban private ownership, open carry or concealed carry on NY streets. Only rich can afford a carry license. The FBI fingerprint charge is $89.75 and the license to carry is $340. According to the NYPD website. I'm so thankful that I don't live in New York!
#7
You are operating under the assumption that the police just go around arresting innocent people because they have nothing better to do. I have no problem with excessive bail. It guarantees appearances. The only time that bail is high is murder charges. I'm tired of the I'm poor excuse. I'm poor but I was raised by my parents not to take items that do not belong to you. I'm african american and never had any problem with the police and yes I have been pulled over and I treat the officers with respect and do as I am told to do. Maybe if others would stop selling drugs and fleeing from police then a lot of this drama would cease. I know that there are a rotten 1% of police officers and the other 99% work to eliminate them from their ranks. But there is also a rotten 1% in any organization. People don't stop riding on airplanes because one pilot out of ten flies drunk. So why are all police percieved as bad because a rotten 1% misfit the uniform.
#8
We're not talking about bad police. The reason trials are held is because not everyone that is arrested is guilty. Some people are legitimately arrested but found innocent. We should not let that ruin their lives. This affects poor people far more because they can't afford not to work. If they turn out to be innocent, they still can't get back to the way things were; they've typically lost their job, and maybe their home, by then.
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You hit the nail right on the head with this one Thom! Freedom, like health care shouldn't depend on how much $ one has. I agree with you and Bernie about most things except gun control. One has a basic right to be armed to protect self, family and others. An American also has a right and DUTY to be armed against government out of control. It ain't about duck hunting, or even self defense firstly, but the last check and balance in our legal system. That right was recognized by our founding fathers and included in the 2nd Amendment to our constitution for a very good reason that is as valid today as it was then.