The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has one of the largest caseloads in the United States. In 2018, the Manhattan D.A.’s Office screened 55,380 cases,[1] comprising 9,995 felonies, 44,033 misdemeanors, and 1,195 violations and/or infractions.[2] The D.A.’s Office declined to prosecute 4,191 of these cases (7.6%). While still among the largest in the nation, the Office’s caseload has decreased by over 48% since 2009, a year in which 107,208 cases were screened. This phenomenon reflects both the overall reduction in arrests across the city, as well as recent policy initiatives by District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. to: 1) end the criminal prosecution of certain low-level offenses, and 2) divert individuals into social services in lieu of arraignment and prosecution.

Arraignments at a Glance

• 52,224 cases were arraigned in 2018 (9,380 felonies, 41,411 misdemeanors, 874 violations/infractions). [3] This number has decreased by 49% since 2009, a year with 101,762 arraignments.
• In 30% of arrests each year, individuals receive a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), which is an official order from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) that instructs an individual to appear in Criminal Court at a future date (typically eight weeks after arrest) to have his or her case arraigned.
• Those who do not receive a DAT are processed and detained until their case is arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court. On average, it takes 19 hours for an individual arrested on a misdemeanor to be arraigned, and 22 hours for an individual arrested on a felony.

Charges at a Glance

Dispositions at Arraignment

Approximately 42% of misdemeanor cases and 84% of violations/infractions are disposed of at Criminal Court arraignment. Less than 1% of felony cases are disposed of at arraignment. Sixty percent of cases resolved at arraignment do not result in a criminal conviction, including an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD), which is a dismissal of all charges following a period (typically 6 months) of being arrest free. More than one-third plea to a misdemeanor.

Custody Status at Arraignment

In 2018, for the remaining 58% of misdemeanor cases and 99% of felony cases that continued after Criminal Court arraignment, defendants were either: 1) released on their own recognizance (ROR) with the requirement that they return to court at a future date, 2) released with conditions such as enrollment in Supervised Release, 3) had bail set on their case, or 4) remanded into custody.

In roughly 71% of cases that continued after arraignment, defendants were either released on their own recognizance or enrolled in Supervised Release. In 87% of misdemeanor cases, defendants were released on their own recognizance, while 10% had bail set (see “Signature Initiatives” for more information on the Office’s Misdemeanor Bail Guidelines).

[1] Cases reflect the number of arrests screened through the Office’s Early Case Assessment Bureau (ECAB), and do not include non-arrest indictments and other non-arrest cases.

[2] 157 cases are missing charge information.

[3] 559 cases arraigned in 2018 have no available charge information.

Arrest Precinct

In 2018, approximately 39% of arrests screened (~21,400) came from precincts in Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood, while another 26% (~14,100) came from precincts in Midtown. About 9% of arrests screened (~5,100) came from precincts in the Upper West and Upper East Sides, and the remaining 26% (~14,000) were split relatively evenly across precincts in lower Manhattan.[1]

Age

Approximately 41% of defendants with arrests screened in 2018 were between the ages of 18 and 30 years old at the time of their arrest. Approximately 25% of defendants were between the ages 31 and 40, and approximately 31% of defendants were over 40 years of age. Only 3% of defendants were under 18 years old.

Gender

Eighty percent of defendants with arrests screened in 2018 were male, while the remaining 20% were female.

Race/Ethnicity

Fifty-six percent of defendants with arrests screened in 2018 were Black, 34% were Hispanic, and 14% were White (non-Hispanic).[2]

[1] In 2018, 239 arrests screened came from an “Other” arrest precinct.

[2] Race and ethnicity data are based upon information recorded by the NYPD at the time of arrest.

The New York City Department of Correction (DOC) oversees individuals who are: 1) detained while awaiting trial, or 2) convicted of a crime and sentenced to one year or less in jail.

On December 31, 2018, there were 1,981 defendants held in DOC custody on a Manhattan case. Defendants in over 87% of these cases were detained pre-trial, while 13% were sentenced to a year or less in jail.

The number of pretrial detentions has steadily decreased in recent years, reflecting the falling crime rates across New York City, changes in bail practices and the expansion of alternatives to detention. From 2014 to 2018, the number of cases resulting in pre-trial detention fell by 23% and the number of jail sentences decreased by 41%.

Cases are “disposed” when:

• A defendant pleads guilty (to the top charge or a reduced charge);
• The case proceeds to trial and the defendant is either convicted or acquitted;
• The case is Adjourned in Contemplation of Dismissal (an ACD)— meaning the charges will be dismissed following a period of being arrest-free;[1] or
• When the case is dismissed (e.g., for lack of evidence).

Dispositions at a Glance

In 2018, there were 42,290 dispositions, with 4,019 indicted felony dispositions, 1,821 unindicted felony dispositions, 26,718 misdemeanor dispositions, and 9,175 violation/infraction dispositions.[2]

In total, there were:

• 18,820 guilty pleas;
• 8,355 Adjournments in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD);
• 6,309 evidence dismissals;
• 3,847 lack of speedy trial dismissals (“30.30 dismissals”);
• 3,930 other non-ACD dismissals, dismissals resulting from successful program completion, Article 730 adjudications (when the courts determine that the defendant is not fit to stand trial),
• 336 convictions at trial; [3]
  • 242 felony convictions
  • 90 misdemeanor convictions
  • 4 violation/infraction convictions
• 145 acquittals at trial; and
  • 70 felony aquittals
  • 69 misdemeanor acquittals
  •  violation/infraction acquittals
• 548 other dispositions, for example, when cases are removed to Family Court or aquitted by reason of insanity.

Sentences at a Glance

In 2018, 2,353 (76%) felony cases that resulted in a sentence were sentenced to a prison or jail term. Misdemeanor and violation/infraction cases are less likely to result in a jail sentence, and multiple programs and community service alternatives are available to the court in conjunction with non-jail sentences.

The number of misdemeanor jail sentences has steadily decreased over the past decade. In 2009, 11,135 cases received a jail sentence; in 2018, this number was down to 2,396, a 78% decrease.

[1] An ACD/M is the dismissal of a marijuana possession case following a period (typically 3 months) of being arrest free.

[2] In 2018, 557 dispositions were missing charge information.

[3] Charges in this category reference the charge at the start of trial.

Pre-Arraignment Diversion

In 2015, the Office began working with the NYPD and community-based organizations to implement numerous pre-arraignment diversion programs. Following an arrest, eligible individuals:

• Are issued a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), which is an official order from the NYPD instructing an individual to appear in Criminal Court at a future date (typically eight weeks after arrest) to have his or her case arraigned;
• Complete mandated programming at a community-based organization. These trauma-informed interventions address underlying needs, such as substance use disorders, and may include counseling, naloxone training, restorative justice groups, arts-based therapy and wraparound service delivery.

Upon successful completion of the program, the Manhattan D.A.’s Office declines to prosecute the case without the individual having to ever step foot in a courtroom.

These diversion programs are aimed toward: people charged with low-level offenses (Project Reset), individuals charged with failing to answer a summons or pay a fine for having their driver’s licenses suspended (Project Green Light), and individuals charged with misdemeanor drug possession (Manhattan Hope). In 2018, the Office declined to prosecute 1,300 cases for individuals who completed pre-arraignment programming.

Project Reset is the largest pre-arraignment diversion program, with 1,773 referrals in 2018. The Office developed Project Reset in 2015 to better serve 16- and 17-year olds charged with low-level misdemeanors, such as shoplifting and trespassing. Given the program’s success, the Office expanded Project Reset to adults of all ages in 2018.

Ending the Criminal Prosecution of Low-Level Offenses

In addition to diversion, District Attorney Vance implemented policy reforms to end the criminal prosecution of numerous misdemeanor offenses. In 2018, District Attorney Vance implemented “decline-to-prosecute” policies for subway fare evasion (PL §165.15(3)), unlicensed general vending (§§ 20-453, 20-461, 17-307(a)(1), 24 RCNY § 89.03(a)), and marijuana possession and smoking (PL §221.10).

Since its inception, the policy to end the criminal prosecution of turnstile jumping has reduced PL §165.15(3) arraignments by 95%. The policy to end the criminal prosecution of misdemeanor marijuana possession has reduced the number of marijuana cases by 93%.

Misdemeanor Bail

In January 2018, the Office implemented new misdemeanor bail guidelines. With these guidelines in place, misdemeanor bail requests decreased by 28% compared to 2017. In 2018:

• 87% of misdemeanor cases resulted in the defendant being released from court after his or her arraignment:
• 95% were released on their own recognizance;
• 2% were enrolled in Supervised Release; and
• 3% posted bail at arraignment.
• 13% of misdemeanor cases resulted in the defendant being detained after his or her arraignment:
• 73% had bail set;
• 25% were held on a $1 bail (meaning the individual was detained because of another case or an outstanding warrant); and
• 2% were held under Article 730 (which requires a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether the defendant is fit to stand trial), or because their misdemeanor case was joined with a felony case.