The New York Times reports that, “New York’s chief judge on Tuesday called for a major overhaul of the bail process for defendants awaiting trial in state courts, saying the current system unfairly detains many people charged with low-level crimes and may fail to protect the public from dangerous defendants.

In his annual State of the Judiciary speech in Albany, the chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, said that New York was one of only four states that do not allow judges to consider public safety when making a bail determination. Only the risk that the defendant will return to court for trial can be assessed.

“As a result, defendants may be put back on the street with insufficient regard to public safety, with possibly catastrophic consequences,” the judge said. “This makes no sense and certainly does not serve the best interests of our communities and our citizens.” The complete story is here.

Chief Judge Lippman’s full speech can be found here.