New Law Overhauling N.Y.’s Parole System Is Being Ignored, Lawyers Say

When Kathy Hochul signed her first marquee piece of criminal justice legislation in September, it was hailed by prisoners’ rights groups and advocates as the most transformative overhaul to a state parole system in the nation.

The law was designed to prevent people from being jailed for certain minor or technical parole violations. But lawyers for dozens of people detained in New York City say that state corrections officials have been sluggish in planning for and implementing the far-reaching changes, which went into effect this week.

On Wednesday, in a filing in state Supreme Court in the Bronx, lawyers asked the state’s courts to release more than 90 detainees, arguing that the corrections department had not followed the requirements of the new law and was now illegally detaining people.

The law requires that a prompt hearing be held after someone is detained on a parole violation to determine whether they should be released. But the department does not plan to offer those hearings to currently incarcerated people, as the filing argues is required.

Lorraine McEvilley, the director of the Parole Revocation Defense Unit at the Legal Aid Society, said in a statement that the department “is simply violating the spirit and explicit intention of this transformative law by refusing to hold these release hearings for everyone in its custody.”

Rachel Connors, a spokeswoman for the department, said in a statement that corrections officials did not believe state law required the hearings to be held for people detained before the parole changes went into effect.

Before the law’s passage, Ms. Connors said, the department “began high-level internal meetings to begin planning for the implementation of this major overhaul.” She added: “We have been proactive in applying the spirit of the law.”

The filing comes after the governor signed the new law in September, as disorder and brutal conditions at Rikers Island gained heightened attention. At the time, Ms. Hochul ordered the release of 191 detainees, most of whom were held for parole violations, and in the months since, hundreds of others have been released statewide.

At least four people who died in custody in New York City since the beginning of the pandemic were detained for minor, or “technical,” parole violations. Sixteen people died in custody in New York City in 2021, the deadliest year since 2013.

The new law, known as the Less is More Act, ended the practice of automatic jailing for some minor violations, like breaking curfew or missing an appointment with a parole officer. In many of those cases, a ticket will now be issued to require a court appearance.

Previously, detainees accused of violating parole could spend up to 15 weeks in jail as hearings proceeded; the changes significantly speed up the process, while reducing parole terms for those who routinely follow rules.

But lawyers said that by late last month, corrections officials had not shared details of how they planned to usher in many of the new rules, schedule required hearings on the new timetable or comply with newly expanded discovery requirements under the law.

One man being held at Rikers Island, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Jorge because he feared retribution from law enforcement officials, said he was frustrated by the process.

He was detained on Feb. 17 for missing reports with his parole officer, and under the new law, he would be entitled to a separate hearing to consider possible release from jail. But his lawyer said the state corrections department would not offer one.

The reported issues come after the measure received broad support in the fall, including from some sheriffs and police officials across the state. The former New York City corrections commissioner, Vincent Schiraldi, who was replaced on Dec. 31, also backed the law, and said this week that it represented “a really amazing step forward.”

Some Republican politicians and the union representing parole officers said the law removed too much latitude for individual cases and did not address other issues within the parole system.

Still, Brian Benjamin, who is now the lieutenant governor to Ms. Hochul, was the bill’s main sponsor in the State Senate, and Ms. Hochul praised its conception during her signing and signaled a desire to create change in the system.

Some Democratic politicians and advocates questioned whether the same pledge still held at a time when Republicans have attempted to pit progressive Democrats’ efforts to change the criminal justice system against rising public safety concerns.

“What’s troubling is that the governor is not intervening to uphold the letter of the law,” said Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest, a Brooklyn Democrat who sponsored the bill in the Assembly. “A lot of promises were being made, so now where you at? We need immediate intervention to ensure that the intention of the bill is upheld.”

Hazel Crampton-Hays, a spokeswoman for Ms. Hochul, said the governor would ensure the new rules were applied correctly. “We remain committed to implementing the law as written and passed by the Legislature,” she said. “If the legislature passes any modifications to the law, the Governor will review them.”

Many of the people named in the court filing on Wednesday were on parole when they were rearrested for misdemeanors. Those charges alone would not have been serious enough to detain them at Rikers. But as parole violations, they would result in automatic incarceration under the old rules.

In the new system, a hearing to consider release must be scheduled within 24 hours after someone is detained on any type of parole warrant — and they can only be held for the violation if they present “a substantial risk of willfully failing to appear.” Lawyers at the Legal Aid Society said they planned to make subsequent filings for other groups of detainees.

The new law also requires that parole hearings take place in borough courtrooms, instead of correctional facilities, a change the bill’s writers say is aimed at increasing public transparency, allowing a detainee to appear before a judge outside of confinement and be joined by their loved ones.

Lucian Chalfen, a courts spokesman, said that five courtrooms in Brooklyn and Manhattan have been identified to accommodate the new hearings.

But lawyers said they were told by correction officials last week that the change would not be immediately applied to currently incarcerated people. On Tuesday, Rikers Island still served as the primary site for the hearings, and Jorge, the man being held at the jail, made his appearance virtually.

Ms. Connors, the corrections department spokeswoman, said officials were under the impression public defenders would work with the city corrections department to separately coordinate transportation from hearings.

Beyond the changes under the new law, Mr. Schiraldi, advocates and parole officers alike have said that further changes are needed to strengthen the parole system.

“This is just step one,” Mr. Schiraldi said. “We need to figure out a way to capture some of the savings made from this and plow them into housing, employment, education so that folks succeed and it reduces crime.”