How New York's Bail Reforms Are Playing Out in a Queens Court - The Appeal

Despite dire-sounding headlines, the state's cash bail reforms are having a positive impact on the people they are meant to help. 

On a weekday in mid-January, a handful of people appeared in a fluorescent-lit, low-ceilinged basement room at Queens Criminal Court for their first arraignment hearing after being arrested. They were there to find out if a judge would let them go home or keep them in jail while they awaited a trial to determine their guilt or innocence.