Judge Zayas on optimism for collaborative case processing improvements
Zayas expresses optimism about continued improvements, citing commitment from the court system, new mayoral administration, city council, five district attorneys, and defense bar, and offers to answer questions.
Despite the challenges I've just laid out, I am overly optimistic that we can continue to make significant improvements to case processing efficiency in New York City.
The court system
is deeply committed to this work.
We now have a mayoral administration that shares this commitment and a city council that desperately wants to see the jails on Rikers Island closed.
We're also fortunate at this moment to have five forward-thinking district attorneys and a sophisticated
passionate defense bar.
For all of these reasons, I believe the time is ripe for a renewed commitment by all stakeholders to efficient case processing that does not sacrifice fairness to either prosecutors or defendants.
Working together, I honestly believe that we can do this.
And I'm happy to answer any questions that the chair or other committee members have about this topic.