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New York’s criminal justice laws are “wrong-headed” and favor defendants over victims, one expert claims, and says a judge’s decision to toss key evidence in the Luigi Mangione murder case is the latest proof.
The debate over New York’s criminal justice laws has been thrust back into the spotlight after Judge Gregory Carro ruled that Pennsylvania police conducted an unconstitutional search of Mangione’s backpack, tossing evidence in the case against the alleged gunman accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024.
For example, in 2019, New York removed cash bail for most misdemeanor and lower-level felonies.
Following the law’s passage, judges couldn’t set cash bail for most people charged with nonviolent felonies like drug possession, shoplifting, grand larceny, burglary and others.
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Bail is an option for a narrow list of charges referred to as “qualifying offenses,” which are considered violent felonies, sex crimes, terrorism and a few others.
Former NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro told Fox News Digital that New York is considered one of the most favorable states for criminal defendants, and said it has the “most constitutional protections for defendants relative to search and seizure.”
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In Mangione’s case, as he was arrested in Pennsylvania, Mauro said that the laws in New York helped exclude evidence that can be introduced in court.
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He pointed to a difference in search laws, noting that while both New York and federal law allow police to search a bag near a suspect without a warrant, New York applies a stricter standard for what counts as “within reach.”
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“If the suspect can lunge for and grab an item, if it’s close enough to him that he can do that, you can search it, even a closed bag. But if it is not lungeable, grabbable, you got to get a search warrant,” Mauro said.
New York also gives broad discretion to judges in sentencing, Mauro said, adding to the reasons he thinks the state is very favorable toward criminal defendants.
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“You could get a state-level judge that for some ideological reason doesn’t give him the top sentence,” he said.
Following the cash bail reform law that was passed in 2019, Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione told Spectrum News that too much is being done for criminals and not the victims.
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“We’re going overboard for the suspects and the predators and not doing enough for our victims,” Cirencione said. “I think a lot more needs to be done.”
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Criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno called New York one of the most “favorable” states for criminal defendants, adding that progressive district attorneys have only compounded the issue.
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“Any big blue city with progressive DAs are always going to be places where it’s more favorable for criminal defendants,” Rotunno said. “They, you know, have progressive pretrial release programs. There’s no more cash bail…I think that from that standpoint, yes.”
Specifically, Carro ruled that the search of Mangione’s backpack at a McDonald’s was unconstitutional because it was made away from an arm’s reach. The alleged handgun found during the search, which Mangione allegedly used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is admissible in court and can be shown to jurors.
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Carro also ruled that most of Mangione’s statements that were made to police in Pennsylvania could also be admissible, other than a remark that the murder suspect made about his alleged fake ID after he was given a Miranda warning.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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