What's happening
This bill requires courts to collect and publicly report detailed pretrial data, including bail, release conditions, and case outcomes.
Why it matters
Enables public scrutiny of pretrial practices. By mandating courts to collect and publish detailed, disaggregated data on bail, release conditions, and court outcomes, the bill allows the public, researchers, and advocates to identify trends, disparities, or potential biases in the judicial pretrial process.
Reveals racial, gender, and geographic disparities. The reporting requirements specify that all key data (such as release decisions, use of electronic monitoring, bail amounts, and case outcomes) must be broken down by race, gender, county, top charge, and case outcome, providing transparency into how different groups may be treated differently.
Supports data-driven reform and accountability. Regular, standardized public reporting empowers policymakers and oversight bodies to assess the effectiveness and fairness of pretrial policies, adjust strategies, and hold the court system accountable for any inequities or inefficiencies.
Shines light on financial and procedural impacts. By requiring reporting on metrics like time spent in pretrial detention, delays to bail payment, fines imposed, and incarceration for failure to pay fines, the bill highlights the economic and procedural burdens faced by defendants—information that can be vital for justice reform efforts.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Pretrial Data Reporting
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Print number 6438b
- Amend and recommit to judiciary
- Print number 6438a
- Amend and recommit to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to judiciary
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1632
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Track Pretrial Justice Data
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Joseph Lentol
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6438--B
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 11, 2019
Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, MYRIE, RAMOS, SALAZAR -read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted to the Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the reporting of pretrial data by the chief administrator
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 216 of the judiciary law is amended by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
5. The chief administrator of the courts shall request and receive data from every court where bail decisions are made and include all points of data specified in this subdivision. Such courts shall track and record such data in every case to provide quarterly reports, in the aggregate, to the office of court administration in a form decided by the office of court administration, and to the public, in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision. The division of criminal justice services shall collect from all counties data related to pretrial detention and include related points of data specified in this section. The office of court administration, in conjunction with the division of criminal justice services, shall publish such data on the office of court administration's public website no later than the first of March annually. Such data shall include:
(a) the total number of cases in the system, both open and closed cases, disaggregated by county;
(b) the number of individuals released on recognizance, disaggregated by race, gender, county, top charge, and case outcome;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13240-05-0
S. 6438--B 2
(c) the number of individuals released on conditions, specifying the number of people ordered to electronic monitoring, the number of cases in which the order for electronic monitoring was extended beyond sixty days and the median and mean length of time individuals spent on electronic monitoring, all disaggregated by race, gender, county, top charge, and case outcome;
(d) the number of individuals released on each form of bail, including the median and mean bail amounts ordered, disaggregated by race, gender, county, top charge, and case outcome;
(e) the number of individuals committed to the custody of a sheriff prior to trial either on bail or on remand, including the median and mean length of pretrial detention and the median and mean bail amount of persons committed to such custody, disaggregated by race, gender, county, top charge, and case outcome;
(f) the number of individuals who post bail and the median and mean length of time prior to bail payment, disaggregated by race, gender, county, top charge, and case outcome;
(g) the number of cases resulting in each disposition, including acquittals, dismissals, plea convictions, or trial convictions, disaggregated by race, gender, county, and top charge;
(h) the rates of failure to appear and rearrest, disaggregated by county, top charge, and case outcome;
(i) the rates of modifications to securing orders, including the type and extent of any modifications, disaggregated by race, gender, county, top charge, and case outcome;
(j) the median and mean length of time it takes for a case to reach disposition (the median and mean total time period between the filing of an accusatory instrument (or first court appearance where an appearance ticket has been filed) and the case disposition) disaggregated by county and top charge;
(k) median and mean amount of fines imposed by the court at the disposition of the case, disaggregated by race, gender, county, and top charge;
(l) total number of people who were incarcerated due to a failure to pay a fine imposed; and
(m) any other such information deemed necessary and appropriate by the office of court administration.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the reporting of pretrial data by the chief administrator
Purpose
To require annual collection and reporting of pretrial processes in the state in order to accurately track the progress of previously enacted changes in the law.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends section 216 of the Judiciary Law, adding a new subdivi- sion 5 to provide what data must be collected and reported.
Existing law
Click here
Justification
Following landmark reforms to the state's pretrial process, it is imper- ative that the state collect and report annually on all aspects of the pretrial process. In order for policymakers to be able to assess the practical outcomes of these reforms, robust data must be made available.
Legislative history
New Bill
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
EFFECTIVE DATE: Effective immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.