510.30 - Application for recognizance or bail; rules of law and criteria controlling determination.

§  510.30    Application  for  recognizance  or  bail;  rules of law and               criteria controlling determination.    1.  Determinations of applications for recognizance or bail are not in  all cases discretionary but are subject to rules, prescribed in  article  five  hundred  thirty  and  other provisions of law relating to specific  kinds of criminal actions and proceedings, providing (a)  that  in  some  circumstances  such  an  application must as a matter of law be granted,  (b) that in others it must  as  a  matter  of  law  be  denied  and  the  principal  committed  to  or retained in the custody of the sheriff, and  (c) that in others the  granting  or  denial  thereof  is  a  matter  of  judicial discretion.    2.    To  the  extent that the issuance of an order of recognizance or  bail and the terms thereof are matters of discretion rather than of law,  an application is determined on the basis of the following  factors  and  criteria:    (a)    With respect to any principal, the court must consider the kind  and degree of control or restriction that is  necessary  to  secure  his  court  attendance  when required.  In determining that matter, the court  must, on the basis of available  information,  consider  and  take  into  account:    (i)     The  principal's  character,  reputation,  habits  and  mental  condition;    (ii)  His employment and financial resources; and    (iii)  His family ties and the length of his residence if any  in  the  community; and    (iv)  His criminal record if any; and    (v)   His record of previous adjudication as a juvenile delinquent, as  retained pursuant to section 354.2 of  the  family  court  act,  or,  of  pending  cases where fingerprints are retained pursuant to section 306.1  of such act, or a youthful offender, if any; and    (vi)  His previous record if any in responding  to  court  appearances  when  required  or with respect to flight to avoid criminal prosecution;  and    (vii)  If he is a defendant, the weight of the evidence against him in  the pending criminal action and any other factor indicating  probability  or  improbability  of  conviction; or, in the case of an application for  bail or recognizance pending appeal, the merit or lack of merit  of  the  appeal; and    (viii)    If  he is a defendant, the sentence which may be or has been  imposed upon conviction.    (b)  Where the principal is a defendant-appellant in a pending  appeal  from  a  judgment  of  conviction,  the  court  must  also  consider the  likelihood of ultimate reversal of the judgment.   A determination  that  the  appeal  is  palpably  without  merit  alone justifies, but does not  require, a denial of the application, regardless  of  any  determination  made with respect to the factors specified in paragraph (a).    3.  When  bail  or recognizance is ordered, the court shall inform the  principal, if he is a defendant charged with the commission of a felony,  that the release is conditional and that the court may revoke the  order  of  release  and  commit  the principal to the custody of the sheriff in  accordance with the provisions of subdivision two of section  530.60  of  this  chapter  if  he  commits a subsequent felony while at liberty upon  such order.