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Shotspotter – Now you see it, now you don’t

Posted by on September 12, 2013 in Blog | 0 comments

By Jill PapernoSecond Assistant Monroe County Public Defender The NSA is not the only organization that monitors the day to day activities of citizens.  But you already knew that.  One piece of technology that has sprouted up in our own backyard – the city of Rochester – in the last couple of years is called “Shotspotter.”  The company that created this device refers to it as a “gunshot detection system.” The Shotspotter technology uses...

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Prosecutorial Misconduct: Naming Names (Again)

Posted by on February 26, 2013 in Blog | 0 comments

As readers of this blog know, I have long and repeatedly advocated that an effective means for reducing the incidence of prosecutorial misconduct, without having to reverse the conviction — which appellate courts are understandably reluctant to do where there is strong evidence of guilt but improper conduct by the prosecutor — is to name the prosecutor in its decision condemning the misconduct, but affirming the conviction (see  and see). Yet, with exceptions, appellate...

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Prosecutors Will Not Be Disciplined by Their Offices For Misconduct

Posted by on February 17, 2013 in Blog | 0 comments

I strongly urge that you read this excellent (and depressing) article by Joel Rudin detailing the utter failure of  three NYC District Attorney’s offices to reprimand assistant DA’s found by courts to have engaged in misconduct: J. Rudin, The Supreme Court Assumes Errant Prosecutors Will Be Disciplined by Their Offices or the Bar: Three Case Studies That Prove That Assumption Wrong (8 Fordham L R 537 [2011]). The article shows how these District Attorney...

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Need Anyone Inform Defendant of The Mandatory Consecutive Nature of Sentence To Be Imposed Pursuant To Plea Bargain?

Posted by on February 14, 2013 in Blog | 0 comments

In People v Belliard (2013 NY Slip Op 00884 [NY 2/12/13]), the Court of Appeals held that Courtsare not required to advise a defendant pleading guilty that it is mandatory that the sentence of imprisonment he will receive as a second felony offender will run consecutively to the undischarged portion of his previously imposed state sentence. With Chief Judge Lippman dissenting, the Court explained that the mandatory nature of the consecutive sentencing does not...

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Appellate Divisions Can Order Hearing To Determine If There Was A Strategic Basis For Failure To Raise Issue

Posted by on February 14, 2013 in Blog | 0 comments

In People v Bachert (69 NY2d 593, 600 [1987]), the Court of Appeals held that a motion for writ of error coram nobis is the means in New York to raise claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel  Such claims focus on  appellate counsel’s failure to raise significant and obvious issues while pursuing issues that were clearly and significantly weaker. But it is often difficult to establish that there was no possible strategic basis...

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