NYC lawyer group critical of Criminal Justice Reform Act
The New York City Bar Association (NYCBA) wants to send state criminal justice reform efforts back to the drawing board. On Monday, the lawyers’ group issued its public comments on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2015.
In general, the NYCBA agreed with Cuomo on the need for criminal justice reform but were critical of the specific reform initiatives — in particular, efforts to reform the grand jury process.
“[W]e believe that the proposed reforms would not achieve the Act’s intended goals and therefore require further study in order to be effective,” the NYCBA concluded in its report on the Act.
The report was based on input from six NYCBA committees including Criminal Advocacy, Criminal Law, Criminal Courts, Criminal Justice Operations, Civil Rights and New York City Affairs.