Posts tagged New York City
New York City's DAs Keep Secret Lists Of Cops With Questionable Credibility

“District attorney’s offices use these lists to alert their prosecutors to potential problems with police witnesses. Sometimes, they’ll turn over information on individual officers to the defense, based on the defendant’s right to know. Our findings prompted defense attorneys and civil-liberties advocates to call on city prosecutors to unveil the databases. Their release would allow for a review of past convictions based on testimony by potentially tainted officers.“

The Gothamist

April 22, 2019

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ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Gothamist, New York CityComment
How to Separate District Attorney Candidates All Claiming to be Progressive

“Those positions, however beneficial to the accused, are hardly radical and are espoused by virtually every candidate in the Queens District Attorney race. It therefore behooves those searching for a progressive candidate to try and figure out who might truly be progressive, let alone radical. With that task in mind, here is a modest list of 13 questions that might reveal the depths of a candidate’s progressive beliefs:“

Gotham Gazette

April 22, 2019

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State ReformsPhillip ReevesGotham Gazette, Queens, Queens County, New York CityComment
NYC Prosecutors Are Stoking Fear About the Mass Bailout, but Their Arguments Don't Add Up

“Even if New York’s prosecutors ultimately do not impede the foundation’s efforts, their rhetoric is disappointing. Much of criminal justice reform is about making the general public think more carefully about the needless, preventable, and often counterproductive harms that the system creates, and the prosecutors’ reactive ‘what about public safety?!’ proclamations directly undermine such efforts, and only serve to strengthen the public’s willingness to continue to cage women and teens.“

The Appeal

October 2, 2018

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Pre-trial Intervention, ProsecutorsPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, New York City, RikersComment
Queens Prosecutor: Kalief Browder's Suicide Wasn't About Rikers

“Led by an 85-year-old incumbent who has been in power for nearly three decades, the Queens district attorney’s office is one of only two in the city (Staten Island’s is the other) that publicly opposes the slow-moving closure of Rikers. Some advocates have also questioned the plan, which aims to reduce the jail population while increasing the number of jails.“

The Appeal

September 10, 2018

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Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesThe Appeal, Queens, New York City, RikersComment
Internal Documents Reveal How Bronx Prosecutors Are Taught to Slow Down Cases

"According to the documents, prosecutors are being taught courtroom techniques with the explicit goal of stretching out cases, thereby undermining defendants’ rights to a speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial is enshrined in the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment, but how it’s enforced at the state level is largely left to courts and state law."

The Appeal

August 2, 2018

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ProsecutorsAnthony BradleyThe Appeal, The Bronx, New York City
Manhattan District Attorney Demands Access to Police Records

"Public defenders have long argued that the earlier prosecutors show evidence to the defense, including evidence about the credibility of police officers and witnesses, the easier it is to weed out bad cases and prevent wrongful prosecutions. Strong cases persuade defendants to plead guilty, while weak ones fall apart before the accused has spent a long time in jail, they contend."

New York Times

July 8, 2018

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ProsecutorsAnthony BradleyNew York Times, Manhattan, New York City, Evidence
New York Gang Prosecutions Use Conspiracy Charges to Criminalize Whole Communities

"Defendants in these kinds of cases, often from New York City’s poorest neighborhoods, can’t afford to hire attorneys. The conspiracy charges they face...are broad and hard to fight, because proving individuals “conspired” with others accused of crimes is easier for prosecutors than proving they committed that crime. Threatened with draconian sentences, almost all defendants in these situations agree to plea deals — usually getting years rather decades in prison, and scoring prosecutors dozens of easy convictions."

The Intercept

June 7, 2018

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ProsecutorsAnthony BradleyThe Intercept, New York City, Misconduct