A Task Force on Wrongful Convictions

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Jonathan Lippman, New York’s top jurist, created a task force permanently to examine wrongful convictions, as well as recommend action steps on how to minimize them. As his first major initiative, the state’s Chief Judge has selected lawmakers, scientists, defense lawyers, and prosecutors to be members of the task force.

In his interview, Judge Lippman said “We will take the raw material from New York criminal cases and from around the country too, for that matter. Let’s see what we can do to change the justice system.”

Recent spate of overturned convictions includes high-profile cases of Martin Tankleff, who was convicted of bludgeoning his parents; and Jeffrey Deskovic, who was convicted of raping and murdering his high school classmate. In fact, according to a report of New York Bar Association, there were 53 people exonerated in the state since 1964, half of them were absolved through DNA testing.

The founder of Innocence Project and a criminal lawyer himself, Peter Neufeld, said “This move was unprecedented. Actually, one of the problems with wrongful convictions is that nobody ever collects data on it.”

While a handful of lawmakers and court officials in other states have already set up task forces or commissions with the same objective, some experts say that the version created by Judge Lippman promises to be quite robust compared to the rest.

Tags: criminal lawyer, defense lawyers, Jeffrey Deskovic, Jonathan Lippman, Martin Tankleff, New York, Peter Neufeld, task force, wrongful convictions
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Criminal Defense Lawyers: More than Witness Questioners

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

People accused of crimes face the horrible possibility of spending many years in jail, sometimes even for a lifetime. However, if you will hire a good criminal defense lawyer, you’ll find someone who is committed to represent you all the way. He or she will negotiate with prosecutors and may be able to arrange for reduced charges and lesser sentencing.

Many people think that defense lawyers simply question court witnesses. Well, you might be surprised to know that this is not all that they do. Good criminal defense lawyers will also:

• Spend many hours to study your case.
• Gather information or data from prosecution witnesses.
• Hire investigators and manage them too. The objective of this is to impeach prosecution witnesses who change their stories during trial.
• Understand possible “hidden costs” if you plead guilty, which may not be thought of by a self-represented person.
• Familiarize themselves with local court procedures and customs which are not written down. They’re also familiar with many criminal law rules hidden in court interpretations of state and federal constitutions.
• Provide you with an objective reality check about your situation and the possible consequences if your case will go to trial. This is very important if you’re deciding whether to accept the “plea bargain” offered by the prosecutor.
• Formulate sentencing programs that can be tailored to your needs. This may help you avoid another brush with the justice system in the future.

Tags: crime, Criminal, criminal defense lawyer, defense lawyers
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