New York Police Department Plays Loose with Freedom of Information Act Laws by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The New York Police Department (“NYPD”) has a history of denying freedom of public information requests, especially when it concerns surveillance equipment and information gathering technology. Muckrock, an online records request monitoring …
Wrongfully Convicted NY Man Freed After 24 Years by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins There were many times Pablo Fernandez could have given up. Yet after spending over half his life behind bars, he never wavered in maintaining his innocence. ‘‘It was so difficult for me to be in prison …
New York Court of Appeals Orders Resentencing Because Trial Court Relied on Testimony from Improperly Unsealed Record by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The New York Court of Appeals ordered that the defendant (not identified by name) be resentenced because the trial court had imposed an enhanced sentence based on …
News in Brief by Arizona: A sheriff’s deputy who roughed up a 15-year-old quadruple amputee during an arrest at a state-operated group home in September 2019 will not face excessive use of force charges, the Pima County Attorney’s Office announced March 10, 2020. “The teen, in a group home after …
DNA Contamination Threatened Conviction of Innocent Man by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The NYC Medical Examiner’s office (“ME”) reviewed the DNA analysis procedure in a burglary case that was the only evidence used to charge Darrell Harris with the crime. They found that the DNA sample could have been …
Doe v. Hansell, NY, Petition, Release of Juveniles COVID-19, 2020 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK EX REL. LISA FREEMAN, Esq. On behalf of JOHN DOES 1 – 7,1 Index No. _______________ Petitioners, WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS …
Letter from Board of Correction re: NYC Jails and COVID-19, 2020 Jacqueline Sherman, Interim Chair Stanley Richards, Vice-Chair Robert L. Cohen, M.D. Felipe Franco Jennifer Jones Austin James Perrino Michael J. Regan Steven M. Safyer, M.D. Margaret Egan Executive Director BOARD OF CORRECTION CITY OF NEW YORK 1 CENTRE STREET, …
New York to Seal Convictions for Small Amounts of Marijuana by The state of New York is abuzz about a new law that eases penalties for low-level marijuana possession and expunges thousands of low-level cannabis convictions. The new law gives fines instead of jail time of up to 90 days …
NYC Drug Prosecutor Bucks Trend of Releasing List of Cops with Credibility Issues by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Through the Freedom of Information Law, communications, memos, and correspondence were obtained that reveal the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s (“OSNP”) database has information flagging police officers with potential credibility …
New York’s SARA Requirements Force Sex-Offenders into Homelessness Then Hold Them in Prison Due to Their Homelessness by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Allison Frankel of the Center for Appellate Litigation wrote an article in the Yale Law Journal discussing New York’s archaic sex-offender housing requirement laws and their inherent …
Jones v. Stanford, NY, Complaint, Social Media Ban, 2020 Case 1:20-cv-01332 Document 1 Filed 03/12/20 Page 1 of 22 PageID #: 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK VERNON JONES, DOUGLAS HYSON, VLADIMIR KRULL, THOMAS MITCHELL, COMPTON MOHABIR, and CORYDON UMBER, CIVIL ACTION Case No.: 1:20-cv-1332 COMPLAINT …
More Crooked Cops in New York City Make the Naughty List by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In October of 2019, the Bronx District Attorney released a heavily redacted list of 75 cops whose testimony the District Attorney’s office feared would undermine cases. Because many of those cops were proven …
DNA Contamination Threatened Conviction of Innocent Man by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The NYC Medical Examiner’s office (“ME”) reviewed the DNA analysis procedure in a burglary case that was the only evidence used to charge Darrell Harris with the crime. They found that the DNA sample could have been …
New York Court of Appeals Reverses Conviction Where Trial Court Negotiated Cooperation Agreement with Codefendant by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso The Court of Appeals of New York reversed a defendant’s conviction for robbery because the trial court entered into a plea agreement with a codefendant that required the codefendant …
New York Court of Appeals: Police Officers May be Cross-Examined About Acts of Dishonesty Like Any Other Witness by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeals of New York ruled that police officers may be questioned about prior acts of dishonesty, subject to the trial court’s discretion, just …
New York Criminal Record-Sealing Program Revisited by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Criminal Legal News first reported on a 2017 law passed by the New York State Legislature that allows citizens to have certain criminal records sealed in its January 2019 issue (p.38-39). Former prisoners could have up to two …
New York Court of Appeals Overturns Murder Conviction, Finds Prosecutor Withheld Critical Video Evidence in Violation of Brady Obligations by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The New York Court of Appeals overturned a murder conviction on postconviction review, finding that the State’s failure to provide surveillance video of the crime …
Santa Didn’t Create Naughty Cops List, But It’s Worth Checking Twice by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) has members who made the “naughty list” of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. The heavily redacted list — obtained October 7, 2019 by the New York …
Worth Rises: Paying for Jail - How County Jails Extract Wealth from New York Communities, 2019 PAYING FOR JAIL How County Jails Extract Wealth from New York Communities DE C EMBE R 2 01 9 C O- PUBL IS H E D BY: WO RTH RISES Worth Rises is a …
NYPD Creating Petty Crimes to Lock People Up by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell What would you do if you found an “abandoned” bag containing valuables and cash? Would you pick it up? Back in 2006, at least 220 people did just that and found themselves arrested on charges of …
