NEW YORK (PIX11) – With Rikers Island set to close in the next three years, the New York City Court system has unveiled a new plan to process felony cases more quickly.
According to the announcement, the court system will work to identify reasons behind proceeding delays and address backlogs.
The new plan outlines four major changes aimed at lowering the jail population. The first is that judges will have to order for the early disclosure of key evidence and schedule conferences so that disputes can be resolved quickly.
Courts will also have to conduct hearings earlier in the proceeding process for requests to stop illegally obtained evidence.
A team of court attorneys will work to make sure trials can go on as scheduled by resolving any issues ahead of time. The city will also use a calendar system to set deadlines for prosecutors and defense attornies.
Under the new initiative, felonies are expected to be tried within six months and misdemeanors within 90 days. The plan will launch in Brooklyn ahead of its citywide rollout next year.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the closure of Rikers Island by 2027. The city was also tasked with lowering the amount of people held in the jail from more than 5,000 to less than 3,300.
The remaining people on Rikers Island will be relocated to smaller city jails built in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here.
