3.25 - E. Review Of Bail Decisions

• Jurisdiction: New York

E. Review of Bail Decisions

The initial bail decision of the local criminal court rendered at arraignment can be reviewed by a superior court judge while the case is still pending in the lower court.⁴⁶³ Defense counsel should consider such an application when recognizance or bail has been denied, or when the bail set might be considered excessive.⁴⁶⁴ Only one such review is available while the case is pending in the local criminal court.⁴⁶⁵ A judge’s decision regarding bail is not appealable; however, the denial of bail or the setting of excessive bail is reviewable by a writ of habeas corpus. The reviewing court is limited to the issue of whether the constitutional or statutory standards prohibiting excessive bail have been violated.⁴⁶⁶ Except in extraordinary circumstances, the scope of review is limited to the record before the court that set the bail at issue.⁴⁶⁷

The proper scope of inquiry for a habeas court reviewing another court’s bail determination is whether “the bail court abused its discretion by denying bail without reason or for reasons insufficient in law. . . It is not the function of the habeas court to examine

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