NY Democrats Mull Changes To Bail Law, Senator Says

(AP) -- A state senator says that some Democrats are considering a plan that would make changes to New York's law that largely eliminated cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies by giving more discretion to judges.

Senator Todd Kaminsky said today that the changes would eliminate cash bail but provide judges more power over which people can be held in jail.

For certain crimes, he said, a judge could consider whether a person arrested will cause serious physical injury and their likelihood to returning to court.

The state's bail law, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, eliminates cash bail for the wide majority of misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes.