Activists Urge Manhattan DA To Dump Prosecutors Group

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — A day after the Manhattan district attorney made national headlines for charging one of President Donald Trump's former associates, activists accused Cyrus Vance Jr. of blocking crucial reforms in his own backyard.

Protesters rallied outside the Democratic DA's office Thursday morning to demand he back changes to New York's bail, evidence discovery and speedy-trial laws. They also pressed him to leave the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, a lobbying group that activists say has fought against progressive legislation.

At a Thursday morning protest outside Vance's office, advocates urged the Democratic DA to get fully behind changes to New York's bail, evidence discovery and speedy-trial laws. They also pressed him to leave the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, a lobbying group that activists say has fought against progressive legislation.

"You cannot claim to be progressive, you cannot claim to support reform but oppose the legislation that our communities need and deserve," said Marvin Mayfield, a leader of the #FREEnewyork campaign.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has prioritized bail, discovery and speedy-trial reforms at the start of his third term. His state budget includes proposals for all three, and he has said he will not sign a final budget without reforms.

Advocates argue using cash bail under current law forces poor people behind bars simply because they can't pay for their freedom, while the slow-moving court system keeps them there and discovery laws keep critical information from lawyers until the last minute.

Cuomo wants to abolish cash bail in most cases, force prosecutors to turn over evidence sooner and require courts to more efficiently manage the pace of proceedings.

But activists say the District Attorneys Association, also known as DAASNY, has fought against needed changes with fear-based tactics — and Vance has not broken ranks.

Vance could empower other reform-minded prosecutors by leaving the group, said Brandon Holmes, the New York City campaign coordinator for the advocacy group JustLeadershipUSA. He pointed to Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner, who reportedly left a similar prosecutors group in Pennsylvania last year.

"Even if there's, you know, the individuals who say they're behind criminal justice reform, they run a campaign on a platform of progressive reforms, and then they align with the same unions or the same associations, we'll never see that change in culture in New York State," Holmes said.

Advocates sent Vance a letter demanding that he drop DAASNY and publicly support bail, speedy-trial and discovery reforms. A spokesman for Vance said the DA would meet with activists.

The spokesman declined to comment on whether Vance would leave DAASNY. But he is not entirely opposed to the reforms lawmakers and advocates have proposed — and DAASNY's president reportedly says that he's not, either.

Vance was one of 15 prosecutors who urged Cuomo and state legislative leaders to end the use of money bail. In a letter, they called for releasing defendants before trial in all but the most serious cases, except those found to be a threat to the community or who may skip court dates. That largely aligns with Cuomo's wishes.

"Jails across New York frequently are over-capacity, and they are filled with people who do notneed to be there," the DAs wrote in the March 6 letter. "This is not simply an injustice to the person needlessly detained, but a threat to public safety."

Also among the signatories was Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who is also DAASNY's president. Soares has reportedly said his group is not opposed to criminal-justice reform outright, but it has concerns about legislation that's been floated in Albany.

"Right now, I think people assume that we just want to say ‘no’ and that’s just not the case," Soares said, according to a New York Law Journal story published last month. "We want to achieve the spirit of the legislative proposals, but we want to make sure it’s done responsibly, not at the expense of victims, and we want to make sure we do it in a way that will be long-lasting."

But Katie Schaffer, a New York statewide organizer at JustLeadershipUSA, said district attorneys have been "actively muddying the waters" on the issue.

"They claim to support reform, but just not that reform, just not right now," Schaffer said. "So we don’t want vague assurances that they support reform."