NYS CoRR Platform Message

NYS Coalition for Rehabilitation and Reentry

Independent
Public Defense Commission

New York has failed to insure fairness for people who can't afford to hire a lawyer; the current statutory system for providing legal representation mandated by law has failed. The report, titled “Lessons Not Learned,” by the Innocence Project, detailed 23 wrongful convictions in New York that have been overturned through DNA evidence,
 

     1. Read, Take Pieces, & Edit the following Message: 
(or write your own)

The current method of providing indigent defense services in New York imposes a large unfunded mandate by the State upon its counties, resulting in a very uneven distribution of services.

In Town and Village Courts, there is a widespread denial of the right to counsel.                                                             

There is a significant statewide disparity between the resources available to public defenders and those enjoyed by prosecutors.                                                                                     

Defense providers are not providing the requisite counseling with regard to collateral issues that can affect critically a defendant's case. Insofar as minorities are disproportionably represented in the criminal justice system, this failure has particular implications for individuals in those communities.

I therefore urge you TO SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING Reforms:
 

• The delivery of indigent defense services in NYS should be restructured to insure enforceability of standards, and quality representation for all indigent offenders.
   

• Adequate funding of indigent criminal defense must be provided by the New York State Legislature from the State's General Fund, and not from the counties.                                                                  

• The system for funding indigent criminal defense services should provide for elimination of the overall disparity between prosecution and defense resources so as to achieve "adequate and balanced" funding of defense representation.

• An Independent Public Defense Commission should be charged with the above.

    2. Send Your Email or Postal Message  to your NYS District Legislators
and to some of the following:

Denise O'Donnell, infoDCJS@dcjs.state.ny.us

Senate: Crime Victims, Crime & Corrections Comm.
  Michael Nozzolio,     nozzolio@senate.state.ny.us
  Dale Volker   volker@senate.state.ny.us
  James Wright  wright@senate.state.ny.us
  George Maziarz    maziarz@senate.state.ny.us
  Eric Adams  eadams@senate.state.ny.us
  Carl Kruger  kruger@senate.state.ny.us
  V. Montgomery   montgome@senate.state.ny.us

Senate Codes Committee
  Dean Skelos  skelos@senate.state.ny.us
  Stephen Saland  saland@senate.state.ny.us
  Serphin Maltese  maltese@senate.state.ny.us
  John DeFrancisco  jdefranc@senate.state.ny.us
  Eric Schneiderman  schneide@senate.state.ny.us
  Thomas Duane    duane@senate.state.ny.us
  John Sampson sampson@senate.state.ny.us

Assembly Corrections Committee
  Jeffrion Aubry  aubryj@assembly.state.ny.us
  Harvey Weisenberg  weisenh@assembly.state.ny.us
  Keith Wright  wrightk@assembly.state.ny.us
  Feliz Ortiz ortizf@assembly.state.ny.us
  Tom O'Mara  omarat@assembly.state.ny.us

Assembly Codes Committee
  Joseph Lentol   lentolj@assembly.state.ny.us
  Robin Schimminger   schimmr@assembly.state.ny.us
  Mark Weprin  weprinm@assembly.state.ny.us 
  James Brennan  brennaj@assembly.state.ny.us
  David Townsend     townsed@assembly.state.ny.us