Lawsuit Challenging Public Defense Deficiencies Reinstated

The lawsuit against the State and five counties for the unconstitutional deficiencies in New York's public defense system just cleared a major hurdle. A majority of the Court of Appeals rejected arguments that the case should be thrown out!

The Court of Appeals was closely divided in Hurrell-Harring v the State of New York, with three judges joining Chief Judge Lippman's decision and two joining a dissent by Judge Piggott.

The decision is a major step in the journey to obtain judicial relief from the ongoing, unconstitutional public defense crisis that has been repeatedly documented and decried. And, as many, including several former Court of Appeals judges, have noted previously in op-eds and elsewhere, the suit provides an opportunity and incentive for the State to resolve that crisis now.

The Court of Appeals decision provides new momentum for reform. The Campaign congratulates the New York Civil Liberties Union, cooperating counsel Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, and the amici curiae, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers et al*; The Fund for Modern Courts; 62 former prosecutors signing the Brennan Center's brief prepared with Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP; The Legal Aid Society; the New York State Defenders Association; and the Innocence Project.

*Other organizations signing the NACDL brief included: New York State Bar Association, New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New York County Lawyers' Association, Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham University School of Law, Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Criminal Justice Center at Pace University School of Law, Center on Latino and Latina Rights and Equality at CUNY School of Law, and 40 New York State Law Professors.

If a California County Can Do This, Why Can't NY?

"Last month the board of supervisors [of Santa Clara County, California] added $1 million to the public defender's budget over the next two fiscal years to fund attorneys who will staff some misdemeanor arraignments. Although the additional spending comes at a time when the county is struggling with a massive budget deficit, supervisors said there is no price tag to ensuring the legal system is just."

This is from a county in debt-stricken California. Can you think of an NY county where legislators would do/say the same?

Op-Ed Sets Out Powerful Policy Argument for Public Defense Reform NOW

An opinion piece entitled "State does poor job providing legal counsel to the poor" appeared in the Daily Gazette (Schenectady [subscription required]) on Sunday, April 11. Recalling when, as a child, he had put his hand over his heart every school day, Daniel T. Weaver wrote that "all 98 pounds of me pledged allegiance to a republic that stood for 'liberty and justice for all.'" But more recently he has been troubled by things leading him to think that "Freedom and justice are chimeras ‐‐ water on a highway in the dog days, disappearing as you get closer to it." Poor people are not getting the same justice as rich ones, he noted, referring to the NYCLU lawsuit plaintiffs as examples. Cost or other supposedly practical issues, Weaver added, must not override doing what our ideals require. He concluded: "In the end, the cost of injustice is usually higher than the cost of justice. A quick historical review of Dred Scott and the Civil War proves that beyond a reasonable doubt."

Newsday Publishes Brennan Center Op-Ed Urging Legislative Action

An op-ed piece published in Newsday on April 8 noted that not only public defense clients, but prosecutors and the justice system itself, are harmed by New York’s broken public defense system. Alicia Bannon, a Liman Fellow and counsel for the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law wrote: "Prosecutors rely on defense attorneys to test theories of guilt and to bring forward evidence of innocence — that’s how the adversarial justice system works. When the system breaks down, prosecutors, and the public, can’t be confident that justice is being done in individual cases."

Referring to the New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit argued recently in the Court of Appeals, Bannon added: "Must the legislature wait for a court order before it ensures equal justice for all?"

The answer, of course, is "no." Bills introduced as part of the state budget process include steps toward real public defense reform. The growing chorus of voices, including former prosecutors, calling for immediate state action should persuade the Legislature and Governor to come together on this vital issue now.

NY Times: “Albany lawmakers must start upgrading the defender system.”

The New York Times editorialized Sunday about the need to pass public defense reform in the 2010 budget! It notes that passage of legislation to create a “permanent commission headed by the chief judge to monitor defender services and develop statewide standards” would, with a small increase in funding, “represent progress in a bleak budget year.” Supporters of the Campaign have already been asked to contact state leaders in support of the legislation; follow-ups citing the Times – or a first-time contact by those who haven’t yet called, emailed, or written – will help keep the momentum going.

Hon. David A. Paterson
Governor of New York
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
518-474-8390
Email from the website.

Hon. John L. Sampson
New York State Senate Conference Leader
409 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
518-455-2788
Email address: sampson@senate.state.ny.us

Hon. Sheldon Silver
Speaker of the Assembly
LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-3791
Email from the website