legal aid society wrongful conviction unit

legal aid society wrongful conviction unit

The Defenders Clinic is on a mission to loosen the crushing hold of incarceration and criminalization in New York State by educating law students to be tireless and skilled criminal legal advocates. ), what are the main parts of each system? 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. Even if he was not part of the review process, youre still asking a subordinate to make a finding about his superior., Conviction review units, said Sims, should not even be housed in prosecutors offices. In court filings and statements to the media, the Brooklyn DAs office has said Hale recused himself from reviewing Sims case. 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 After taking office in 2014, Thompson expanded the Conviction Review Unit, fulfilling a campaign promise and earning a wave of laudatory national media attention. Alfonzo Riley, pictured above, worked with the Defenders Clinic on his clemency application; he was granted clemency from Governor Cuomo in 2018 after 30 years in prison. . Job Description The Legal Aid Society's Parole Revocation Defense Unit has an immediate opening for a Staff Attorney. The Legal Aid Society is among the first state public defender organizations working in-house to explore our clients lives through video to convey their character, aspirations, traumas, difficulties, and often, transformation. CRUs are tasked with investigating convictions secured by their own officeoften the colleagues, friends and supervisors of CRU staff. Had we known about these officers, we would never have brought these cases.. | The Legal Aid Society is the nation's oldest and largest provider of legal services to the indigent. 199 Water Street New York, NY 10038. I had to forgive him, because I didnt want to walk around bitter., He reassured his son: Everything is gonna work itself out. Public defenders and advocates for criminal justice reform say Sims case highlights an inherent problem with the Brooklyn CRU and similar conviction review units in DAs offices across the country, in which prosecutors serve as the gatekeepers for potentially innocent people seeking to overturn convictions that resulted from their own misconduct. Defense attorneys point to Hales control of the unit as a key reason for the slow pace of exonerations, New York Focus and The Appeal. Canada's long history of processes intended to rectify . View Case Acceptance Criteria. But this is not enough to protect an applicant to the CRU from an inherent conflict of interest, said Collins, who met Sims twenty-five years ago while they were both incarcerated in New York. Myself and a multidisciplinary team of students reviewed criminal cases in Western Australia for possible wrongful conviction. Sims with his sons, Antoine and Anthony Jr., in 2015 | Keisha Sims. The strength of our criminal justice system depends on its accuracy its ability to convict the guilty and to clear the innocent. The Exploitation Intervention Project works with trafficking survivors to help them vacate criminal convictions related to their trafficking and seal the records of those arrests. Last fall, the Queens district attorney moved to dismiss 60 such cases. 2023 New York Public Radio. 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. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Westchester County District Attorney's Office. Sims trial lasted five days. Wrongful Conviction Clinic. By Rebecca Davis OBrien and Troy Closson. Legal Aid has secured a group discount at Aloft Long Island City. Convicted but innocent: wrongful conviction and . He served more than 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. he did not see who shot the victim and did not know who did. c/o The Legal Aid Society. Legal Services NYC. Conviction Review Unit. 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. Speakers have ranged from scientists and academics to practicing attorneys. Montclair State University. Early-bird registration for the 2023 Innocence Network Conference is NOW OPEN. Visit website. Join to connect . After spending 17 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, Brooklyn man James Davis is finally coming home. . Content may not be reproduced without permission. We deliver justice in every borough, working tirelessly to make our city a better place. Keith Brown makes $142,000 representing his Long Island district and about half a million representing corporate real estate interests. Defendants offered guilty pleas in 34 exonerations and gave false confessions in 24 cases. The grant will be managed by the Research Foundation of CUNY. He said he forgave him years ago, during a family visit. According to Sims attorneys, Hale never disclosed this information to the defense. While working to seek exoneration of our clients, we have successfully advocated for the release of incarcerated clients who have gone before the parole board but maintained their innocence. The expungements are the result of a campaign by the Legal Aid Society, the Exoneration Project, and other organizations focused on overturning wrongful convictions, which asked prosecutors across the city in May to investigate cases involving 22 NYPD officers who were convicted of crimes at some point in their careers. He did so much damage to everybody., After dismissing the charges against Cooper, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Ruth Shillingford called for an independent investigation into the circumstances that led to his wrongful conviction, saying, There has got to be an evaluation of what happened in every case. His then-wife, Kisha Sims, said she expected that he would be acquitted and had been planning a coming home party for him. While it may not undo the harm caused to you. Experienced Litigation Support Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the legal services sector. I expected the CRU to interview me, which would give me a chance to answer their questions and give a detailed account of seeing Julius shoot the victim., The CRU did not contact Sims to learn more about his claims. The move is part of an expansive effort by prosecutors across the city to review cases, even decades old, that involved discredited police officers. Mr. Danese was convicted of disorderly conduct in 2009 after he arrested a teenage boy on Halloween and abandoned him half-naked in a desolate Staten Island marsh. The new head of Brooklyns Conviction Review Unit should be someone with no prior connection to the office, in order to avoid any conflicts of loyalty or unconscious bias, Felber told New York Focus in a statement. Mark Hale is not going to fix his faults, he told New York Focus. Vacating and dismissing these cases is both constitutionally required and necessary to ensure public confidence in our justice system.. The Project can also tell you if you are eligible for the many other types of record relief that can help to end the perpetual punishment of a conviction record. Sims trial counsel has since died. t the time, his sons were 4 and 5-years-old. 155, 156 taxation 148 trade union members, prohibited list of 365 trade unions, against 323, 394, 406 wrongful dismissal see under wrongful dismissal see also compensation declarations 58, 59, 274, 301, 366 agency workers 65 detriment: trade unionism . Requests for review must be done by letter or email. The 60 dismissals announced on Monday stemmed from an initial review of three of those officers arrest records. Sims and Kisha divorced in 2018, but say they have remained close friends. In response to that request, Katz, who formed a conviction integrity unit when she took office as district attorney last year, launched a review and found that 10 of the 22 flagged officers had contributed to convictions in Queens. Our work Our Family Law and Domestic Violence Practice provides legal services to survivors of domestic violence throughout New York City. Nearly 75% of Defender Clinic students intern at The Legal Aid Society. CLEAR offered assistance [], Stay connected: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn, Human Resources | Information Technology |Communications & Marketing | Consumer Information (ABA Required Disclosures), Plan an Event at CUNY Law | Student Handbook | CUNY Law Giftshop With a backlog of 100+ potential clients, The Legal Aid Society will hire a Post-Graduate Fellow to work on the project, and the Defenders Clinic will add a paralegal. These positions require . So its easy to sweep things under the rug, its easy to rubber stamp things., Sims was 24 when he was convicted. Juvenile Rights Practice Entry Level Staff Attorney- Fall 2023. The Worker Justice Project, an initiative of The Legal Aid Societys Criminal Defense Practice, combats discrimination faced by workers with arrest or conviction records living in New York City. Try our guided search" | translate }}, {{ 'Get the free One Degree App' | translate }}, {{ 'Use our apps to find and save resources 24/7' | translate }}, {{existingAffiliation.organization_name}}. During DA Gonzalezs tenure, nine people have been exonerated. In statements to the press, the Brooklyn DAs office has claimed that Hale did not review Sims case. Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit. Heres what you should know about the new sealing law and the sealing process. (Sullivan did not respond to a request for comment.). After his testimony, however, the Brooklyn DAs office dropped the violation of probation. BY: Elizabeth Dickinson | DATE: Jan 04, 2021, BY: Naz Ahmad, Acting Director of CLEAR | DATE: Feb 01, 2023, Delivering Justice: CUNY Law and The Legal Aid Society Team Up to Reduce Incarceration through Post-conviction Testing of DNA Evidence. This grant will provide us with vital support to expand our work as we train law students to reverse wrongful convictions and decarcerate our prisons. Although he did not pull the trigger and was actually nowhere near the shooting, he was charged under New Yorks controversial felony murder law and sentenced to 71 years to life. I never got a chance to tell my story, Sims told New York Focus. (Yes!)" The office spent 10 months reviewing every Brooklyn conviction in which the 13 former officers were involved, flagging for dismissal cases in which they served as the primary witnesses. 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. 5. In 2016, Sims wrote a letter to the Brooklyn DAs conviction review unit, or CRU, asking them to investigate his case. The site contains instructions and forms for applying for commutations and pardons. Biography Early life and education. This is a very important role; the work of this committee is of extraordinary importance, not just to the Muslim community, but to all communities in New York. The Innocence Network is an coalition of organizations dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted, working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions, and supporting the exonerated after they are freed. The total is expected to rise to 496. To me that's just an inherent dual loyalty," said Elizabeth Felber, a supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society's wrongful conviction unit. Occasionally, the family stayed together in a trailer on the prison grounds. CUNY Law was one of 13 recipients of this national competitive bid. Elizabeth Felber, supervising attorney with the wrongful conviction unit at the Legal Aid Society a lawyers organization that represents 11 defendants whose cases will be vacated and dismissed this week noted several collateral consequences of the convictions: loss of public housing, barriers to employment, and deportation. So, I appeared the next day and did whatever it was they wanted.. In court, Katz promised that these expungements were just the beginning as her office continues to probe the work of the other officers tied to convictions in Queens. Our success so far with these advocacy letters indicates that there has been a shift in attitude at the parole boards. Update (9/4): This article previously stated that the Brooklyn CRU exonerated seven people during DA Gonzalezs current tenure. Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering (Warren L. McCabe; Julian C. Smith; Peter Harriott) . The Legal Aid Society is grateful and honored to partner with CUNY School of Law in this endeavor, and we look forward to making more of a difference in the lives of New Yorkers and communities that we serve.. Supervising Attorney - Wrongful Conviction Unit at The Legal Aid Society Sidwell Friends High School, Northwestern University, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law View profile View profile badges Brooklyn Prosecutors Seek to Throw Out Scores of Convictions, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/07/nyregion/brooklyn-prosecutors-convictions.html. Sims told him he couldnt think like that. CRUs are tasked with investigating convictions secured by their own officeoften the colleagues, friends and supervisors of CRU staff. Inside the restaurant, Sims says he saw Graves take out a small shotgun, point it at the cashier, Li Run Chen, and shoot. Prior to joining the Legal Aid Society in 2016, David spent 10 years as the Managing Attorney at the Innocence Project, where he supervised attorneys working to exonerate innocent clients and spearheaded the organization's amicus curiae practice throughout the country. Nobody is currently incarcerated as a result of these convictions, and none of the 13 officers involved in the cases remain on the force. Two additional witnesses did not identify Cooper from a photo array. | translate }}, {{ "Is One Degree free? The Wrongful Conviction Unit continues to grow in size and outreach since its inception in 2019. Identifying and understanding the causes of wrongful convictions is critical to maintaining the integrity of our justice system. It reflects a broader push to scrutinize police testimony and a recognition of the catastrophic effects that even misdemeanor convictions can have on people. Pursuant to a federal grant, our WCU has teamed up with CUNY Law Schools Criminal Law Clinic and the Henry Lee Institute of Forensic Science to broaden its ability to represent the wrongfully convicted. Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily. More than half of wrongful convictions can be traced to witnesses who lied in court or made false accusations. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. One of the social forces that convictions uses is the human need for safety and serving justice. 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. The other six convictions stemmed from the work of former NYPD Detective Oscar Sandino, who was charged in 2010 and pled guilty to sexual assault and other sexual misconduct charges involving arrestees. Many of these convictions were secured in the late 1980s and early 90s, when misplaced and biased prosecutorial and police responses to substance abuse, poverty, and racial tension within communities, led to a surge of questionable arrests and convictions. Students gain knowledge and first-hand practice experience in various criminal legal contexts, such as trial, post-conviction, parole, clemency, and reentry cases. Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit, Iowa State Public Defender Wrongful Conviction Division. Visit Our Campus Discovering our campus is a breeze, whether you're a high-schooler thinking about attending DU, an admitted student learning your way around, or a teacher or counselor setting up a group visit. 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. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez is searching for a replacement for Hale, and defenders are urging him to hire someone from outside the DAs office to lead the unit. The mainstream media can make a difference and help curb wrongful convictions here in the United States. A jury of my peers found me guilty with the evidence that was presented to them and not the true facts., At the time, his sons were 4 and 5-years-old. Name: The Legal Aid Society; Industry: Legal Practice; Location: New York, NY, United States; Employees: 1000-5000 Description: The Legal Aid Society is the nation's oldest and largest provider of legal services to the indigent. As deputy chief of the homicide bureau under Hynes, Hale participated in an office-wide practice of deceiving judges in criminal cases, witness coercion, and intentional suppression of evidence, according to a federal lawsuit recently filed by exoneree Emmanuel Cooper. New York, New York, United States . On Wednesday, Eric Gonzalez, the district attorney in Brooklyn, asked a state judge to vacate the first 15 convictions under his purview, all of which involved felonies and several of which resulted in prison time, according to the prosecutors office and the Legal Aid Society. Emily Niedzwiecki. Sims has since remarried, to his junior high girlfriend, Keisha Sims. f Case 1:20-cv-08924-CM Document 741 Filed 09/16/22 Page 43 of 43. a. award plaintiffs, and the members of the class they seek to represent, punitive. On appeal, the conviction was overturned due to the wrongful admission of the interrogation. The letter asked the offices to review and erase convictions in which the officers played a role. Find job opportunities near you and apply! Founded in 1876, the Society provides a full range of civil legal services as well as criminal defense work, and juvenile rights representation in . To find out if The Exploitation Intervention Project is able to assist you in having your trafficking-related convictions vacated and the records sealed, contact Leigh Latimer at 646-385-5025 or lelatimer@legal-aid.org. Sims request to the CRU did not present any of the new claims that his attorneys have included in the current petition to vacate Sims conviction, including evidence of Hales misconduct and eyewitness testimony that Graves was the shooter. Browse Resources . Beginning in 2021, the NYC District Attorneys offices have begun dismissing our clients cases where the officers involved in the prosecution were convicted of crimes relating to corruption. | translate }}, {{ "Add or edit any resource" | translate }} Instead, he received a one page rejection letter stating that it would not investigate the case because the evidence that you are asking the CRU to rely on has already been rejected by multiple courts.. Tenant/landlord issues. | translate }}. Defense attorneys point to Hales control of the unit as a key reason for the slow pace of exonerations, New York Focus and The Appeal reported in May. The 60 cases dismissed last fall by Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, were based on the work of three former detectives. Iowa State Public Defender Wrongful Conviction Division Des Moines, IA. Additionally, each year, the Defenders Clinic hosts an experienced attorney on leave from The Legal Aid Society as a Fellow and Supervising Attorney. Wrongful Convictions | Brooklyn DA. The Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Practice (JRP) is hiring entry-level Staff Attorneys for a Fall 2023 class. The Legal Aid Society can assist with wrongful convictions, applications for commutation and pardon, and the sealing of past criminal records. I would just hear them screaming Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!. About Us. At the time, all we knew was that he had been forced to give up his green card. In another case, Hale prosecuted Vladymir Campos, 22, for the 1997 murder of 16-year-old Felix Gonzalez. But Graves 2002 statement said that he did not see who shot the victim and did not know who did, but that police had threatened to charge him with Chens murder unless he testified against Sims. Quick hits with little oversight, said Charles Linehan, a former Manhattan prosecutor who has run the Brooklyn district attorneys conviction review unit since January. Sims also says he told all his appellate attorneys that he saw Graves commit the crime; his one surviving appellate attorney confirmed this to his current counsel. Graves testimony was essential for the prosecutions case. 199 Water Street Skip to Job Postings. Riley was incarcerated for his role in a 1988 drug deal that ended in a homicide. Join us April 14-15, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ for two days of powerful plenary and breakout sessions. Clemency The Cop Accountability Project (CAP) of the Criminal Defense Practices Law Reform and Special Litigation Unit empowers organizations and communities across New York City to hold police accountable for human rights violations. 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 . Although offered a scholarship to read engineering in the United States, he decided to take up medicine at University of . A few months before Graves testified, the Brooklyn DAs office filed a Violation of Probation and scheduled a hearing on the matter for May 10, 1999, the same day he testified at Sims trial. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. On February 2, 2021, the New York legislature repealed the loitering for the purposes of prostitution statute, commonly called the Walking While Trans Ban. This means loitering for the purposes of prostitution is no longer a criminal offense in New York, and the records of past convictions should have been sealed automatically. It would be among the largest mass dismissal of convictions in the country, according to data collected by the National Registry of Exonerations. Graves did not respond to multiple requests for comment from New York Focus. It's the daily routine for Elizabeth Felber, Alfonzo Riley and Thomas McCall the trio that runs the Legal Aid Society's new Wrongful Conviction Unit, a small new bureau for New York City . Sims trial counsel has since died. 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.. {{ "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?' (c) Comstock, Thinkstock, royalty-free ( see reuse policy ). White Plains, NY 10601. Paralegal II - Wrongful Conviction Unit at Legal Aid Society New York City Metropolitan Area. As a result . Member Organizations. Elizabeth Felber, supervising attorney with the wrongful conviction unit at the Legal Aid Society a lawyers organization that represents 11 defendants whose cases will be vacated and dismissed . Queens DA Melinda Katz Moves To Expunge 60 Convictions Linked To Corrupt NYPD Officers, We rely on your support to make local news available to all, Overdose prevention centers save lives but remain in legal limbo, as NYC moves toward expansion, Overdoses of two men leaving Manhattan gay bars last spring found to be homicides, A man is dead after an encounter with police in New Jersey, Suspect arrested in connection with NJ State Trooper shot in leg. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. Its just a sad injustice all the way around.. A PRDU Staff Attorney represents clients accused of violating their conditions of release at administrative parole revocation hearings and recognizance hearings held in the criminal courts, federal detention facilities, hospital prison wards and, where applicable, local correctional . Civil law is the law that controls non-criminal issues.Civil lawsuits generally do not result in jail time or "punishment." Instead, the outcome of a civil case is usually an order from a judge that one person pay another person money to make up for harm that they caused, handling a family law (custody, divorce, etc.) The woman had told the authorities that Mr. Sandino warned that she would go to jail and lose custody of her children if she refused. The Brooklyn review grew out of the offices investigation of cases involving Joseph E. Franco, a former narcotics detective who was charged with perjury and other offenses. District Attorney, Major Crimes Division, Legal Aid Society, Seymour James, Lee Long, NYPD, Lamar Palmer, . At trial, the States star witness was Graves, who testified that Sims had shot the victim. How can I contact you?" but that police had threatened to charge him with Chens murder unless he testified against Sims. Admission & Aid Overview; Undergraduate Admission; To Jabbar Collins, that conflict of interest makes it imperative that a CRU is led by someone outside the office. The Criminal Appeals Bureau prepares commutation applications for eligible clients individuals with excellent institutional records who have served more than half of their minimum term and are more than a year away from parole eligibility. 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 Legal Aid Society 4.3. 199 Water Street damages against the individual defendants in an amount to be determined at trial; b. award plaintiffs, and the members of the class they seek to represent, reasonable. 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 . I want to support him now because hes another one of the many individuals thats in there for something he didnt do, said Cooper. The Legal Aid Society had filed an amended lawsuit to stop illegal apartment layout alterations initiated by the landlords, which threaten to displace long-term rent-stabilized tenants, as reported by Gothamist.. This wasnt the only leverage the prosecution had against Graves. Criminology 40(1): 1-18; Huff C, Rattner A & Sagarin E 1986. On Monday, the Legal Aid Society announced it had proven to the court that Davis did not shoot and kill a man at a 2004 party in East New York. Despite his obligation to correct false testimony by witnesses, Hale did not challenge Graves claims. If you are seeking legal assistance for yourself or a loved one, we encourage you to read through our FAQs and reach out to your local Network organization. All Rights Reserved, Anthony Sims, seen here in 2019 with his wife Keisha, has been imprisoned for over two decades for a murder he says he didn't commit, For more than two decades, Sims has tried to overturn his conviction in the appellate courts, without success. Record Sealing The mission of the Wrongful Conviction Division is to identify and litigate claims of actual innocence in post-conviction proceedings. All Rights Reserved. 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. The Legal Aid Society's Wrongful Conviction Unit represents those wrongfully committed once all appeals have been exhausted. Since 2015, the DNA Unit of the Legal Aid Society in New York City has held an annual, two-day forensic conference for defense attorneys called Questioning Forensics. Find job postings near you and 1-click apply! If the true focus of the CRU is to do justice, you need someone whos not going to get everything from a prosecutorial perspective and look at ways to save the conviction, said Collins, a legal analyst with Horizon Research Services. Yet, when he appeared at trial, Graves testified that he was in court voluntarily and that he regularly checked in with his probation officer.

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