nysacdl.org

Senate Passes Bail Legislation

Staff NYSACDL — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:56:00 +0000

The State Senate passed legislation (on April 18, 2012) allowing judges to consider the safety of alleged victims and their families when setting bail. In opposing the bill, NYSACDL President Richard Willstatter notes that prosecutors routinely make bail applications that refer to defendants’ criminal histories and the nature of alleged crimes, as well as the risk of harm to an alleged victim. Thus, judges are typically made aware of the same information covered by the bill when setting bail. ”There is no pandemic of judges in New York failing to consider these factors,” said Willstatter, who practices out of White Plains. “If a judge thinks a defendant is dangerous, he can set higher bail or, in a felony case, deny bail.” NY Senate Green Lights Bail -Setting Proposal, Thomson Reuters News & Insight.

Forensic Science Accreditation Assessment Information Available

Staff NYSACDL — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:03:38 +0000

Materials provided to the New York State Commission on Forensic Sciences which include accreditation assessments, records of laboratory errors, problems with personnel proficiency exams, and how individual labs address problems are now available online: http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/pio/openmeetings.htm. Defense lawyers can access these materials to review issues about a lab involved in a particular case. Records indicating a specific problem in a lab in your case could form the basis of additional discovery requests that may have been otherwise been rejected by the court as not relevant. Lawyers are encouraged to check out the information that is now publicly available. Lawyers are REMINDED that this is a starting point in research but not a substitute for making specific demands for specific test reports and laboratory case files in a lawyer’s current case.

NYSDA Funding Restored

Staff NYSACDL — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:51:46 +0000

SUCCESS! The call for restoration of funding for NYSDA’s Public Defense Backup Center has paid off. Last week, NYSDA reported that it has received over $2 million in requested funding in the final budget. NYSDA’s Public Defense Backup Center, which performs New York State’s backup function under the Sixth Amendment has been added to the Indigent Legal Services Fund (ILSF) as a statutory purpose and so will continue to perform its vital services. NYSACDL joins NYSDA in thanking our members who wrote to their legislators urging that funding for NYSDA’s Backup Center be continued.

Effective Assistance Includes Plea Advice

Staff NYSACDL — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:30:50 +0000

Recognizing that the plea bargaining process is an integral part of the criminal justice system, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the Sixth Amendment guarantee to effective assistance of counsel extends to the plea process and, more specifically, that defendants can challenge a conviction and sentence based on the claim of ineffectiveness in plea negotiations and advice. Missouri v. Frye, and Lafler v. Cooper. NYSACDL President Richard Willstatter’s observations were recently quoted in the National Law Journal: “[i]t seems intuitively obvious, and as the Supreme Court recognized, that counseling people with respect to guilty pleas is one of the most important things lawyers do in representing people accused of crimes. . . . It is manifestly incompetent not to advise your client to take a plea if you strongly believe he should, just like it would be incompetent for a lawyer to advise a client to take a plea offer that the lawyer thought was a bad idea. We give advice. That is what we do.” Justices Stress Need for Effective Advice on Whether to Accept a Plea, Tony Mauro, National Law Journal, March 22, 2012

Challenge to Queens DA’s Pre-Arraignment Interrogation Practice

Staff NYSACDL — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:56:51 +0000

NYSACDL joins the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the New York State Defenders Association and others as amici challenging the Queens District Attorney’s Office practice of conducting pre-arraignment interviews of arrestees. These consolidated cases,People v. Eugene Polhill, Collin Lloyd-Douglas, and Jermaine Dunbar are before the New York Appellate Division, Second Department seeking not only suppression of statements obtained as a result of these pre-arraignment interrogations but more broadly, a ruling curtailing the program as unconstitutional and as unethical in violation of the Disciplinary Rules.

Learn more about NYSACDL’s amicus work

Gideon’s Legacy

Staff NYSACDL — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:00:50 +0000

In his article published in the Albany Times Union, NYSACDL past-president Ray Kelly reminds us of the importance of the Gideon decision and the urgent need to address inequities and lack of funding for indigent defense in New York State. In the article, A Disgrace to Gideon, we are reminded that the lack of fair access to representation by the poor remains systemic and must be corrected before true meaning can be given to the Constitutional right to counsel.

NYSACDL Joins Call to Investigate NYPD Surveillance of Muslims

Staff NYSACDL — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:42:35 +0000

NYSACDL has joined advocacy, civil rights, community, and faith groups to voice concern over the New York Police Department’s surveillance of the Muslim community without regard to suspicion of wrongdoing. In a March 19, 2011 Letter to Attorney General Holder, spearheaded by Muslim Advocates in California, the Justice Department is urged to commence an investigation into the NYPD practice of surveilling and gathering intelligence on mosques, schools, businesses and individuals without any indicia of criminal activity. The letter cites reports of specific instances of inappropriate information gathering and other conduct in support of the call for an investigation into whether the NYPD is violating the civil rights and liberties of members of the Muslim community.

NYSACDL Speaks Out on Sentencing Disparity

Staff NYSACDL — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:33:56 +0000

NYSACDL President Richard Willstatter responded to a recent New York Times article, “Wide Sentencing Disparity Found Among U.S. Judges” in a Letter to the Editor which was published recently in the Times. Imposing a sentence below that advised by calculations under the federal sentencing guidelines is based upon myriad circumstances such as cooperation, compelling personal circumstances or weakness of the case. Individual sentencing decisions made by the federal judiciary take into these and other factors and should be respected by prosecutors, defense counsel and the public.

NYSACDL Opposes DNA plan

Staff NYSACDL — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:55:53 +0000

NYSACDL opposes the governor’s proposal to require DNA samples from every person convicted of any crime, even a misdemeanor. Any claimed law enforcement objective in collecting DNA data from those convicted of relatively minor crimes is seen as far to speculative to justify the intrusion into personal privacy that collecting individual DNA information creates. NYSACDL recently spoke out on the issue in a Letter to the Editor of the New York Law Journal. A letter was also published in the Times Herald Record. NYSACDL has formed a subcommittee on proposed DNA database legislation and will continue to monitor the issue. The subcommittee is chaired by Bruce Barket who is joined by members Timothy Hoover, Andrew Kossover, Marshall Mintz, JaneAnne Murray and Karen Newirth.

State of the Judiciary Address

Staff NYSACDL — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:25:20 +0000

February 14, 2012 – Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman Delivered the State of the Judiciary AddressChief Judge Jonathan Lippman delivered the State of the Judiciary Address today outlining an impressive agenda for the year. The Address covered important initiatives which Judge Lippman is committed to implementing through the judiciary. These include a reassessment of the treament of juvenilles which is in keeping with developing scientific research on the development of the adolescent brain, continued vigilance of law enforcement and prosecutorial practices to prevent wrongful convictions and a concomitant commitment to providing indigent defense, and, of particular need during these harder economic times, expanded civil legal services for those facing civil legal proceedings ranging from foreclosure or eviction to domestic violence, children services, access to health care and education, and consumer debt among other travails.

Visit the Court of Appeals website to link to the webcast and a pdf of the Judge’s speech.