| The Legal Aid Society is the nation's oldest and largest provider of legal services to the indigent. c/o The Legal Aid Society. Enough is Enough: Combating Sexual Misconduct | Notice of Non-Discrimination | Legal Notices | CUNY Copyright | Text Only View | At the Legal Aid Society, Riley is part of a team that reviews claims of innocence, working to help to those who were wrongfully convicted achieve the vindication they seek and deserve. According to Coopers civil complaint, two eyewitnesses said they recognized the assailant and it was not Cooper. He and Graves then ran out of the restaurant. Early-bird registration for the 2023 Innocence Network Conference is NOW OPEN. Emily Niedzwiecki. (Yes!)" View Case Acceptance Criteria. | translate }}, {{ "I still have a question. The move is part of an expansive effort by prosecutors across the city to review cases, even decades old, that involved discredited police officers. Under a recent New York State law (CPL 160.59), some people may be able to get their criminal convictions sealed. Rene Thomas Folse, JD, Ph.D. is the host for this edition which reports on the following news stories: Interpreter Must Show Evidence of Fees in Same Geographic Area. WCU hears directly from incarcerated persons seeking help, many have been in prison for over 20 years, and in many cases, evidence was collected but never tested. {{ "Empowering you to find what you need" | translate }}, {{ "It's always 100% free" | translate }}, {{ 'Search for resources' | translate }} >, {{ 'Learn how to use One Degree' | translate }} >, {{ "One Degree amplifies your work" | translate }}, {{ "View tools & resources" | translate }} >, {{ "We're a 501(c)(3) technology-driven non-profit" | translate }}, {{ 'Learn more about us' | translate }} >, {{ 'Learn about our impact' | translate }} >, {{ 'How do I search for resources on the One Degree app?' Addressing the Impact of Wrongful Convictions on Crime Victims Jobs; Salaries; Messages; Profile; . Of the Brooklyn cases, 331 were misdemeanor convictions and 47 were felonies. All Rights Reserved. | translate }}, {{ "How do I add all the resources in my area?" As New York Citys primary public defender, The Legal Aid Society has trial offices across all five boroughs, and specialized unitssuch as DNA litigation, forensics, and a Wrongful Conviction Unit (WCU) launched in March 2019. Join to connect . Elizabeth Felber, a supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society's wrongful convictions unit, thanked Katz, who is the first District Attorney in the city to seek to overturn convictions in . Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit, Iowa State Public Defender Wrongful Conviction Division. The Clinic has had tremendous success in securing parole release and sentence commutation. We are excited that this collaboration with the Wrongful Conviction Unit will provide more access to legal advocacy for incarcerated New Yorkers, while also growing CUNY Laws relationship with the Legal Aid Society, one of our closest partners, said Nicole Smith Futrell, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Defenders Clinic. Alfonzo Riley, Case Handler (left), Elizabeth Felber, Supervising Attorney (center), Thomas McCall, Investigator (right), members of The Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit. As ASA College prepares to shut its doors after years of controversy, New York continues to shell out tuition subsidies to for-profit colleges at rates higher than any other state. The audience is typically ~100-200 defense attorneys from around the United States. Im sure that there are hundreds of other cases just like mine, Campos wrote to New York Focus from prison. During trial, a state witness testified that police had coerced him into implicating Campos, that he had later recanted his statement to Hale, and that he had failed a lie detector test. Thompson recruited Harvard professor and former public defender Ronald Sullivan to lead the units effortsbut Mark Hale, the prosecutor from Sims case, was charged with supervising the units day-to-day activities. Coopers appellate criminal defense attorney and civil attorney is Tom Hoffman, the same person representing Sims. Despite his obligation to correct false testimony by witnesses, Hale did not challenge Graves claims. They should be an entirely independent agency, totally separate from any DAs office., A lot of the prosecutors know each other, he said. No physical evidence linked Sims to the crime. (formerly Bashian & Farber, LLP), from November 2017 to September 2019, where she practiced criminal defense, general civil litigation and trusts & estates. Hochul Projects Horse Racing Renaissance, Declines to Share Evidence. One of those officers, Richard Danese, was also named several years ago on a list of seven officers whom Brooklyn prosecutors stopped calling as witnesses because of concerns about their credibility. New York, NY 10038. After taking office in 2014, Thompson expanded the Conviction Review Unit, fulfilling a campaign promise and earning a wave of laudatory national media attention. Today, DNA testing has developed to a point where reinvestigation, reanalysis, or retesting of biological evidence can help prove innocence. Riley also believes that there are many others who deserve the second chance that he received. By the numbers, there are 39,683 incarcerated persons in New York State prisons with many of them serving lengthy prison sentences. The group Families of the Wrongfully Convicted, along with lawyers from the Legal Aid Society, argued that the Conviction Review Unit established in 2014 under the late Brooklyn DA Kenneth . Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island Trial Offices, the Homicide Defense Task Force Unit, Wrongful Conviction Unit, Parole Revocation Unit, and the Criminal Appeals Bureau. A new review by the CRUunder a different directormay be Sims best chance at exoneration. {{ "Available to anyone, anytime" | translate }}, {{ "Read about our impact and get recent news:" | translate }}, {{ "See One Degree in the Media:" | translate }}, {{ "Explore helpful videos, webinars, slides and more for Pro members" | translate }}, {{ "One Degree keeps all of our resources up-to-date every 6 months" | translate }}, {{ 'Search by text message available!' If you are innocent and have exhausted all appeals for a conviction in New York City, write to The Wrongful Conviction Unit and request our questionnaire to be considered for representation: The Wrongful Conviction Unit Provided direct support to NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner - former long-time attorney-in-chief of NYC Legal Aid Society - including assisting with City Hall and senior staff . In 2013, controversy over Hynes tactics helped Kenneth Thompson defeat Hynes. For more than two decades, Sims has tried to overturn his conviction in the appellate courts, without success. All Rights Reserved, Wrongful Convictions, Appeals, Clemency & Sealing, Empowering People with Disability & Health Issues, Lifting the Voices of Children & Adolescents, Supporting Survivors of Violence & Navigating Divorce. Indianapolis, IN 46202. Two additional witnesses did not identify Cooper from a photo array. Legal Resources - MOPD - New York City How the Media Helps (and Hurts) Wrongfully Convicted Prisoners - HuffPost Exonerations in the United States Map - University of Michigan Law School The truth is gonna come out eventually.. This wasnt the only leverage the prosecution had against Graves. In fact, Hale told the jury during closing arguments: Now you heard the summation of the defense Mr. Tims [Sim defense attorney] wants you to believe that Julius Graves is the perpetrator of this crime., In Sims 2016 letter to the CRUwhich he wrote himself, without legal counselhe said that he was innocent and included Graves recantation, but did not say he had witnessed Graves kill the victim. Inside the restaurant, Sims says he saw Graves take out a small shotgun, point it at the cashier, Li Run Chen, and shoot. Thirty-four of those cases were linked to Detective Kevin Desormeau, who was convicted in 2018 for lying about an alleged cocaine sale in Jamaica, Queens. LAS in the News 03.03.23 - The Legal Aid Society The justice system can be overwhelming. Sims trial counsel has since died. You will get this benefit if you were convicted of possessing up to 16 oz or selling up to 25 grams. Elizabeth Felber, supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Societys Wrongful Conviction Unit, said she hopes the next head of the unit, Hales replacement, comes from the defense community, as has been the practice in other jurisdictions in New York, such as Queens and Westchester. At the time, all we knew was that he had been forced to give up his green card. In the year following Sims trial, Graves and his family received more than $22,000. Whether it be financially or safety, they are putting themselves in a position of mistrust. The Legal Aid Society, one member of the 2021 group, urged the city's district attorneys to continue reviewing potentially wrongful convictions "on an ongoing basis and with full transparency . Anthony should not have to suffer further years in prison while a hearing and likely appeal wend their way through the legal system even as prosecutors possess evidence showing that Anthony belongs home today with his wife and kids.. The Legal Aid Society's Parole Revocation Defense Unit has an immediate opening for a Staff Attorney. Last spring, several defense and civil rights organizations sent a letter to the citys five district attorneys and the special narcotics prosecutor, identifying 20 police officers who had been convicted of crimes and two others who had engaged in work-related misconduct. Section III presents several recom-mendations that research shows will minimize the likelihood of wrongful convictions and that are important for police departments to adopt. Lorenzo Johnson served 16 and a half years of a life-without-parole sentence, from 1995 to 2012, when the Third Circuit Federal Court . Conviction Integrity Units | Wrongful Convictions Blog The Wrongful Conviction Unit was created to address the population of prisoners who have exhausted all avenues of relief and are still fighting for their freedom and to clear their names of crimes they did not commit. Sims also says he told all his appellate attorneys that he saw Graves commit the crime; h. is one surviving appellate attorney confirmed this to his current counsel. When he was convicted, she told New York Focus, she thought that was the end of my world., In 2013, controversy over Hynes tactics helped Kenneth Thompson defeat Hynes. Montclair State University. NYS Attorney Elizabeth Sack Felber The Legal Aid Society 199 Water St, New York, NY . As a result, the Unit has been able to take on more clients, reinvestigate their cases and advocate for their exoneration and release. Conviction Review Unit. Nearly 75% of Defender Clinic students intern at The Legal Aid Society. Another 78 cases on the prosecutors list arose from two detectives, Edward Martins and Richard Hall, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges that they released an 18-year-old woman from custody in exchange for sexual favors. Heres what you should know about the new sealing law and the sealing process. By Rebecca Davis OBrien and Troy Closson. . Mr. Franco, who was fired by the Police Department, is awaiting trial in Manhattan. The U.S. Department of Justice has granted CUNY School of Law, in partnership with The Legal Aid Society, nearly $500,000 to establish a project that will review and litigate select wrongful conviction claims of New Yorkers incarcerated in state prisons.