For years, since Congress passed the draconian and rigid Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) in the wake of the first WTC bombing and the Oklahoma City attack, Federal appeals courts have not seen fit to extend the Act’s harsh one year statute of limitations on habeas corpus appeals, even in cases of actual […]
Awhile ago I wrote an article for “The Attorney” Magazine about the inequities of the arraignment process in Nassau County. The article resulted in the re-construction and re-alignment of the courtroom where arraignments are held with the moving of the District Attorney’s desk from the front of the courtroom at the right hand of the […]
Here’s a dirty little secret from the courtroom that will probably upset my friends in the criminal defense bar - prosecutors rarely lose. Area DA’s offices all boast conviction rates well above 90%. So why is it? It can’t be that they employ better lawyers, after all most of the assistant district attorneys are barely […]
The NY Times reported last week that the Court of Appeals, NY’s highest court, would examine the adequacy of the public defender system in the State as a result of a class action lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union. The NYCLU alleges in its complaint that the State violates the rights of […]
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