'Seismic' Changes: Nassau DA Candidates Sound Off On Bail Reform

SANDS POINT, NY — Bail reform has been a hot-button issue on Long Island, particularly as hundreds of inmates are set to be freed in January in Nassau County alone. In April 2019, state lawmakers passed sweeping legislation restricting the use of cash bail and pretrial jailing, as well as changing rules around how prosecutors and accused criminals share evidence.

While cash bail and jailing are still allowed under most violent felony cases, Nassau district attorney candidates have homed in on certain parts of the law that ban setting bail for second-degree burglary, robbery and major drug crimes outside of trafficking charges.

One goal of the legislation was to avoid sending people accused of nonviolent crimes to jail because they couldn't afford cash bail.

Madeline Singas, the Democratic Nassau County district attorney seeking a second term in the Nov. 5 election, told voters this month at a League of Women Voters debate in Sands Point the changes for prosecutors were "seismic."

Meanwhile, her Republican opponent, Frank McQuade, called the law "extreme" and said it would allow some criminals to walk free less than 24 hours after committing a crime.

The issue has gained momentum at candidate events and on social media, with information, speculation and misinformation running rampant as to what will happen and where candidates actually stand.

Here's what Singas and McQuade have to say.

Madeline Singas

After touting her 28 years of prosecutorial experience and declaring Nassau the safest large county in the state with record-low crime rates, Singas told voters she took issue with the legislation. On Jan. 1, laws will go into effect that say bail cannot even be asked, she said.

"If you commit a burglary in the second degree, and you go in front of a judge, there will be no bail set," she said. "Even if you committed the burglary the night before. And the night before that. If you are in, and you come out and you commit those crimes, there will be no bail set."

Singas said she strongly opposes the law.

"I do not support that," she said. "In fact, I was one of the most vocal opponents against many of these changes"

The county's top prosecutor noted she believes people shouldn't be penalized because they cannot afford bail, but stressed public safety can't be at risk.

"We implored legislators to put in standards so that prosecutors could argue to judges about public safety," she said. "That was wholeheartedly rejected and now we're in the situation we're in."

She also criticized the changes to the so-called "discovery" process. The new law requires that all relevant materials that prosecutors have in their possession must be automatically handed over to defense attorneys with a couple weeks. This includes names and contact information for anyone with relevant information (including law enforcement); witness statement, recordings such as 911 calls and so-called "Brady" disclosures that have information that would help the accused.

Those changes will impact prosecutors in a "seismic way," she said.

"I've been doing this for 20 years and I’ve never seen a sea change that has just happened from Albany," she said.

See also:

Nassau District Attorney Candidates: Meet Madeline Singas

Nassau District Attorney Candidates: Meet Frank McQuade

Frank McQuade

In a Patch candidate questionnaire, McQuade, a private attorney for a 25 years and former police officer, singled out Democrat-led changes to cashless bail as the most pressing issue facing Nassau County.

"Bail should not be punitive," he acknowledged. But that doesn't mean he uniformly supports the reforms. Legislation that would set no cash bail for second-degree robbery and burglary goes too far, he said.

"I can smell something bad when I see it," he said. "And what was passed on what was a Democratic majority in the state Senate was extreme."

McQuade criticized the law, estimating that as many as half of the hundreds of inmates set to walk out of the East Meadow correctional center Jan. 1 are gang members.

"There are many factors going into the decision to ask for bail reform," he said. "The risk of flight, the seriousness of crime. The person's ability to pay is a factor but not the only factor."

McQuade also pointed out it was Democrats, not Republicans, leading the cashless bail reform charge in Albany.

"It's her party, she can cry if she wants to," he said, pointing to his opponent.