| translate}}, {{ "Select a category below to get started" | translate }}, {{ "Total resources added across time" | translate }}, {{ "Number of resources viewed in the past year" | translate }}, {{ "Community contributors" | translate }}, {{ "Want some help? Wrongful convictions have likely always been present in Canada's criminal justice system to some degree. Pro Bono Scholar, Wrongful Conviction Unit The Legal Aid Society Feb 2023 - Present 1 month. {{ 'All my collections' | translate }} {{ 'Resources for Pro members' | translate }}, {{ 'Free marketing materials' | translate }}, {{ 'Frequently Asked Questions' | translate }}, {{ 'And x more' | translate: { count: (tagsWithinArea.length - 4)} }}, {{ "Add or edit resources" | translate }}, {{ 'Community Learning Hub' | translate }}, 2023 One Degree, {{ 'a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.' | translate }}, {{ "Why should I sign up for an account?" In certain cases, video As a result of harmful changes to immigration law and policy, Legal Aids clients are increasingly unable to access justice before the USCIS and the immigration courts. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. Less than 24 hours after Chens murder, Sims was the primary suspect. Visit website. matter, or that someone stop behaving in a way that interferes with another . When Anthony Jr. was about eight years old, Sims recalled, he told his father that he would get Graves for what he had done. 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 . The Wrongful Conviction Unit was created to address the population of prisoners who have exhausted all possible avenues of defense and are still fighting for their freedom. . 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. Two men who died of drug overdoses after leaving Manhattan gay bars last spring died by homicide, according to findings from New York Citys chief medical examiner. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. 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, Discrimination Based on Arrest & Conviction Records, What You Need to Know About Marijuana Legalization in New York, What You Need to Know About Marijuana Expungement, What You Need to Know About Loitering & Prostitution Records, What You Need to Know About Sealing Your Criminal Convictions, What You Need to Know After Your Convictions Have Been Sealed, What You Need to Know About Discrimination Based on Arrest and Conviction Records. Sims attorneys have filed a petition to overturn his conviction, but the judge hearing their case, Danny Chun, has never reversed a conviction during his 16 years on the bench. Photo: Legal Aid Society. , the Brooklyn DAs office has claimed that Hale did not review Sims case. All Rights Reserved. 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. Last year, a New York Supreme Court judge vacated his conviction and, several months later, the DAs office dismissed the charge. They cannot be made over the phone. The Legal Aid Society will be hosting its Wrongful Conviction Day event over Zoom on Oct. 6. Her proof: an industry-commissioned study that she refuses to release. Involved and accomplished at a range of pro-bono initiatives.Skilled in Legal Writing, Advocacy Appeals, Legal research Constitutional Law, Civil law, Criminal Law, Human rights law, Terrorism law, Evidence law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. 199 Water Street. Convicted but innocent: wrongful conviction and . Browse Resources . The concerns over his cases sparked the broader review in Brooklyn, as prosecutors began to examine past cases handled by other officers who were similarly charged and convicted of misconduct that was directly related to their jobs. The Legal Aid Society is taking precautions and implementing safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to comply with New York City's requirements concerning Covid-19. To Jabbar Collins, that conflict of interest makes it imperative that a CRU is led by someone outside the office. He previously worked for WNYC and Gothamist, and has published stories with NPR, ProPublica, Esquire, and The Intercept among other outlets. 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. 2023 The Legal Aid Society. When a crime occurs, the person is considered a danger to society. At The Legal Aid Society our Civil, Criminal Defense, Juvenile Rights, and Pro Bono practices work tirelessly in and out of thecourtroom to defend our clients and dismantle the hidden, systemic barriers that can prevent them from thriving in New York City. For Elizabeth Felber, the director of the Legal Aid Society's Wrongful Conviction Unit, . 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. The project team will then locate and test evidence. SCOTUS Rejects J&J's Appeal of $302M Deceptive Marketing Penalty. 199 Water Street 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. Lawyers, scientists, and policy advocates speak on topics of interest to the defense communityeverything to basics of DNA transfer to Bayesian networks, to cross examination techniques to litigating trade secrets. . Copyright 2022 The City University of New York School of Law | 2 Court Square, Long Island City, NY 11101-4356 | Phone: 718-340-4200 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. 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. Keith Brown makes $142,000 representing his Long Island district and about half a million representing corporate real estate interests. 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, 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 . . A conviction may be classified as wrongful for two reasons: At his sentencing hearing, he professed his innocence. The move is part of an expansive effort by prosecutors across the city to review cases, even decades old, that involved discredited police officers. It was based almost entirely on Julius Graves recantation of his testimony in 2002. The Wrongful Conviction Unit continues to grow in size and outreach since its inception in 2019. Conference themes in the past have included how to litigate a forensic DNA case, the PCAST report, and the NIST Mixture Foundation Review. 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. After the shooting, Graves told police that he took the gun home with him and wiped it down to remove fingerprints. 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. 5 Legal arrangements have come into existence with the need for protecting the human honour. From 2014 until Thompsons death in the fall of 2016, Brooklyns unit exonerated 21 people. Find job opportunities near you and apply! Units 1 and 2- Heritage and Rights and Freedoms Types of public and private law categories Public: Criminal, Consitiutional, Adminastrative Private: Tort, Labour, Family, Property, Contract, Early history of law - who the people were (Hammurabi, Moses etc. Then, he was unmasked as a quack. The Legal Aid Society 4.3. 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. Paralegal II - Wrongful Conviction Unit at Legal Aid Society New York City Metropolitan Area. The bottom line is that the D.A.s Office is fighting to uphold Anthonys conviction despite overwhelming evidence that Anthony is innocent and never received a fair trial, said his attorney, 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.. Job Description The Legal Aid Society's Parole Revocation Defense Unit has an immediate opening for a Staff Attorney. Individuals who believe they qualify for clemency should apply online with the Governors Office. At the time of trial, he hadnt checked in with his probation officer for close to three years. His son began to sob. 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. Riley also believes that there are many others who deserve the second chance that he received. A 1990 graduate . After taking office in 2014, Thompson expanded the Conviction Review Unit, . Indianapolis, IN 46202. Yet, when he appeared at trial, Graves testified that he was in court voluntarily and that he regularly checked in with his probation officer. Mr. Bowens, now 56, was the central police officer in 134 of the cases that the Brooklyn prosecutors aim to dismiss. CRUs are tasked with investigating convictions secured by their own officeoften the colleagues, friends and supervisors of CRU staff. For some victims, the impact of the wrongful conviction may be comparable to or even worse than . Post-conviction case files will be reviewed to determine which evidentiary item(s) should be initially tested for DNA and/or retested using modern, advanced technologies. 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. In the fall of 2017, The Legal Aid Society launched The Womens Pretrial Release Initiative (The Initiative). Of the Brooklyn cases, 331 were misdemeanor convictions and 47 were felonies. In that case, officers were found to have planted evidence, falsified records and rewarded informants with drugs. | translate }}, {{ "I still have a question. To find out if you are eligible to have a criminal record sealed call 212-298-3120 or email CaseClosed@legal-aid.org. 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. 2023 The Legal Aid Society. 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. Each of the NYC DA offices are currently reinvestigating our cases. 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 . The gun used in the murder was kept in the apartment where Graves lived. 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. Prior to joining the Legal Aid Society, Sherry was Of Counsel Bashian P.C. Enough is Enough: Combating Sexual Misconduct | Notice of Non-Discrimination | Legal Notices | CUNY Copyright | Text Only View | 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. Iowa State Public Defender Wrongful Conviction Division Des Moines, IA. His then-wife, Kisha Sims, said she expected that he would be acquitted and had been planning a coming home party for him. 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. Later, when he tried to recant, investigators with the DAs office told him that the DA would pursue the attempted murder charges if he disavowed his earlier statement. Alfonzo Riley, a paralegal in TheLegal Aid Societys Wrongful Conviction Unit, was recently profiled by The Appeal. Find and save resources 24/7 from anywhere!' The mainstream media can make a difference and help curb wrongful convictions here in the United States. The Brooklyn review has been underway since last year and came after the offices review of cases involving a former narcotics detective, Joseph E. Franco, who was charged with perjury and other offenses in connection with his undercover work and testimony for prosecutors. Simply put, this grant is a gamechanger and will bolster our capacity to screen more cases and exonerate more New Yorkers who were wrongfully convicted, said Elizabeth Felber, Supervising Attorney of the Wrongful Conviction Unit at The Legal Aid Society. but that police had threatened to charge him with Chens murder unless he testified against Sims. Or email: wcu@legal-aid.org. To me that's just an inherent dual loyalty," said Elizabeth Felber, a supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society's wrongful conviction unit. This wasnt the only leverage the prosecution had against Graves. 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 . Read our cookies policies here. To me that's just an inherent dual loyalty," said Elizabeth Felber, a supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society's wrongful conviction unit. 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. Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. The state has two years to implement the expungement, BUT if you have an expungeable PL 221 offense it is already being suppressed and it should NOT show up on a background check. New York, New York, United States . At the time, all we knew was that he had been forced to give up his green card. New York, NY 10038. I never got a chance to tell my story, Sims told New York Focus. 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. 199 Water Street Coopers appellate criminal defense attorney and civil attorney is Tom Hoffman, the same person representing Sims. By the numbers, there are 39,683 incarcerated persons in New York State prisons with many of them serving lengthy prison sentences. Heres what you should know to prevent wrongful discrimination. As a result, the Unit has been able to take on more clients, reinvestigate their cases and advocate for their exoneration and release. The total is expected to rise to 496. 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. Provided at no cost, it protects those who do not have the means to defend their rights in the criminal justice system: the detained, arrested or imprisoned; those suspected, accused of, or charged with a criminal offence; and victims . Individuals who believe they qualify for clemency should apply online with the Governor's Office. The article has been updated to account for the one exoneration produced in that year. From 2014 until Thompsons death in the fall of 2016, Brooklyns unit exonerated 21 people. So, I appeared the next day and did whatever it was they wanted.. One eyewitness, who knew both Sims and Graves, called police and told them that she saw Graves, not Sims, running out of the restaurant with a gun in his hand, according to a report by Graves fiancee.