Court's decision does not change the need for public defense reform

The Third Department of the Appellate Division has dismissed the complaint in the NYCLU constitutional challenge to New York State’s public defense system. Two judges, in a great dissent, set out why the majority opinion is simply wrong.

The Campaign does agree with one aspect of the majority opinion -- the Executive and Legislative branches should resolve this issue without recourse to the courts. We must keep up the pressure on legislators and the Governor to enact the Public Defense Act of 2009 when the Legislature comes back, probably in the fall. Even if the court decision is appealed to the Court of Appeals, we aren’t waiting for it. We continue to push for an Independent Public Defense Commission now.

The Campaign Manager has released a statement, as has Michael Whiteman, Chair of the Committee for an Independent Public Defense Commission. In a nutshell, the Third Department failed to prevent injustice, leaving it up to the Legislature and Governor – and to us.