New Report Update Highlights Transparency Leaders in NY’s Criminal Courts
As reported in the Times Union this morning, Scrutinize and Reinvent Albany released a new benchmarking report, The State of Criminal Court Transparency in 2024, which shows modest but meaningful progress in making New York’s criminal court decisions publicly available. Building on 2023’s Open Criminal Courts report—which found that the vast majority of decisions are not published—the new data identifies the individual judges who published the most, or made the most improvement in the number of decisions they published.
Key Findings
- Several standout judges made a notable push for transparency, including:
- Yadhira Gonzalez-Taylor (Bronx), who published 34 decisions
- Wanda L. Licitra (Queens), who published 23 decisions
- Joshua Glick (Kings), who published 20 decisions
- Brenda M. Freedman (Erie), who published 13 decisions
- Claudia Daniels-DePeyster (Kings), who published 13 decisions
- Tompkins and Putnam led all counties in publication rates per capita with 7.7 and 6.1 decisions per 100,ooo residents, respectively. (The county with the largest number of published decisions was the Bronx with 71 decisions; however this represents only 5.2 decisions per 100,000 residents).
- In 32 counties across the state, not a single criminal decision was published.
- Only 373 criminal court decisions were published in 2023 and 394 in 2024 statewide.
Despite these bright spots, the Office of Court Administration, under the stewardship of Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas and Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, has neither announced new measures to routinely make trial-level decisions available online nor publicly expressed support for requiring more decisions to be published online via the New York Reporter website.
Meanwhile, Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Chris Burdick have introduced legislation (S3864/A4674) that would require judges statewide to publish criminal court decisions.
“These judges choose transparency, leading by example to strengthen public trust in our courts during a time of widespread distrust,” said Oded Oren, Executive Director of Scrutinize. “Their commitment to openness enhances the legitimacy of our judicial system.”
“A few judges are leading the way, but transparency shouldn’t be optional,” said Rachael Fauss, Senior Policy Advisor at Reinvent Albany. “New Yorkers have a right to see the decisions that judges make, and deserve a court system where every decision is public by default. It’s time for the Legislature to act and make judicial transparency the law.”
“New Yorkers deserve a court system that is transparent and accountable. The gravity of these decisions warrants greater openness and my proposal will ensure the rights of everyone in our legal system are protected and judges’ records are clear for the public to see,” said Senate Deputy Leader Gianaris.
“New York’s criminal courts lack transparency,” said Assemblymember Burdick, sponsor of A4674. “New Yorkers have a right to open, accessible information about the legal decisions that shape our lives. The Criminal Court Opinion Transparency Act is a practical and necessary step to make key criminal court decisions publicly available while also safeguarding the identifying information of individuals involved. By requiring the publication of opinions on fundamental legal issues, we create accountability in our judicial system and ensure that New Yorkers can trust in the fair and consistent application of the law.”
Why Published Decisions Matter
- Public Accountability: Written opinions reveal judges’ legal reasoning, enabling voters and reappointment committees to make informed evaluations of their work.
- Legislative Oversight: Access to trial-level decisions helps the Legislature see how new criminal-justice laws—such as discovery and bail reform—are applied on the ground.
- Fairness and Guidance: Published decisions provide valuable legal guidance for attorneys, and promote uniformity in how laws are interpreted from one courtroom to another.
Click here to view the 2024 report update on Scrutinize’s website.
Click here or below to view the 2024 report update as a PDF.