Today is the last day for a Bronx supreme court justice, Natia Semaj-Williams, to work on criminal cases, after facing a wave of criticism over her decision to release a man accused of manslaughter without bail.

On April 5, Judge Semaj-Williams decided to release the alleged killer, Tyresse Minter, without bail. Minter stands accused of accidentally killing his 15 year-old stepson after putting him in a “full body restraint” in January.

When she released the defendant, the New York Post called Judge Semaj-Williams “notoriously lenient.”

Before the killing, Minter had been recently released from state prison on parole after being convicted of felony robbery and assault. At arraignment, Minter’s attorneys argued that the killing was unintentional and noted that he had never tried to flee from authorities.

Judge Semaj-Williams, because of his lack of flight risk, which is the legal basis for setting bail in New York, put Minter on supervised release.

“I recognize that these are very serious charges. I recognize that a child was dead, and regardless of how that comes to be, it’s a horrible thing,” Judge Semaj-Williams said. “But in setting bail or remanding someone, there has to be considerations regarding that individual person, and their specific facts and circumstances, and whether or not they’re going to return to court.”

This decision drew attention from the governor’s office, when Governor Hochul ordered Minter to be arrested once again as she pushes to convince Albany Democrats to roll back New York’s bail law changes.

“We will continue working closely with the Bronx District Attorney’s office throughout this process as it prosecutes the charges, and we will continue coordinating with our partners in law enforcement to strengthen public safety across the State,” Ms. Hochul said.

The decision to re-arrest Minter as well as sideline Judge Semaj-Williams has reignited the battle over New York’s judicial system and bail laws among both those fighting to maintain the state’s bail laws and those looking to rollback changes digging in.

Ms. Hochul has sided with those seeking to roll back some of the changes to New York’s bail laws, specifically looking to end the “least restrictive” standard that judges are expected to enforce when setting bail.

Ending this requirement would give judges more agency in deciding whether to set bail on a defendant at arraignment. As it stands judges are required to choose the least restrictive option.

“Confusion is understandable and I want to make sure that we remove that one standard and give them criteria to look at,” Ms. Hochul said. “I want to make sure judges have what they need.”

Ms. Hochul has framed the changes as needed to make the legal system more fair overall, saying that her proposal would mean implementing “commonly accepted criteria.”

Ms. Hochul’s position has set her against members of her own party across the state who are pushing to maintain New York’s current bail laws, as well as New York Republicans who have seized on the bail changes as a way to blame Democrats for crime.

A former congressman who was the Republican candidate for governor in 2022, Lee Zeldin, calls the changes that Ms. Hochul is pushing for “weak baby tweaks” that “won’t make this issue go away.”

“New York’s cashless bail law needs to be totally overhauled and judges need discretion to weigh dangerousness,” Mr. Zeldin said.

Democratic leadership in Albany has reached a tentative agreement on the New York bail laws that included a removal of the “least restrictive” standard, City and State reported. The details of this deal are not publicly available, though, and will probably come out when the state passes its budget.

The issue is also drawing national attention from House Republicans, who elected to visit Manhattan earlier this week in an attempt to discredit District Attorney Alvin Bragg and paint him being as soft on crime while focusing on prosecuting President Trump.