BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

CANTON -- A county legislator is proposing the board pass a resolution voicing opposition to statewide bail reform.

Legislator Rita Curran, R-Massena, said she believes there is “a lot of concern in the community” over the reforms that kicked in Jan. 1.

Under the new laws, defendants arrested for most offenses are either released with an appearance ticket or arraigned and released on their own recognizance. There are some exceptions for violent offenses like murder.

At the Monday, Jan. 13 county legislature finance committee meeting, Curran said she was bringing up the idea at someone’s request and said she “tends to agree” that the board should pass something opposing the new bail laws.

"I think it would be something worthwhile to support,” she said.

Legislator Larry Denesha, R-DeKalb, said he recently spoke with assemblymen Robert Smullen, R-Meco, and Mark Walczyk, R-Watertown, about bail reform concerns.

Advocates of the reform say it is meant to level the playing field for poor defendants who could end up with a lengthy stay in jail because they can’t afford bail, where a wealthier defendant could afford to bail or bond out, pending the outcome of the case.

“Bail is meant to be a tool courts use to ensure that a person accused of a crime returns for trial. But each year, thousands of New Yorkers who have not been convicted of a crime remain behind bars – kept from work, family, and appointments – simply because they can’t afford to pay to get out,” the New York Civil Liberties Union said in a statement in March of last year.

“For these New Yorkers, freedom depends on the size of their bank accounts. When they can’t pay, they either remain locked up until their trial – which can take months or even years – or they plea bargain, sometimes even pleading guilty to get out of jail sooner than they would if they awaited trial.”