I Do Declare: Submission of Defendant’s Affidavits/Declarations in Support of Suppression Motions
by Bill Easton A defendant who files a suppression motion often faces a common dilemma in both state and federal court. Judges commonly insist on the submission of a defendant’s affidavit or declaration before granting an evidentiary hearing in many instances, especially in the context of claims rooted in the Fourth Amendment. In many of these cases, the judge is wrong, and defense counsel should litigate the necessity and content of the affidavit before...
read moreA Simple Way to Insure That Applications for Leave to Appeal Exhaust All Federal Constitutional Claims Raised in the Intermediate Appellate Court
Applications for leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals from a decision and order of an intermediate appellate court affirming a conviction often focus on the issue or issues which are most likely to appear worthy of the attention of the Court of Appeals. As that Court’s website explains, those are significant and yet unresolved issues, such as those in in which the law is not well settled, or involve...
read moreThe Glass is 5/62 full – The New York Hurrell-Harring Settlement
by Jill Paperno, Esq.,author of Representing the Accused: A Practical Guide to Criminal Defense As criminal defense lawyers, and especially as public defenders, we are often a unique combination of optimism and pessimism. We become convinced that we will prevail at trial under impossible circumstances – and often we do. We are certain that the judge is out to get us, the prosecutor is holding back, or the police are not being truthful –...
read moreMotion to dismiss the indictment based on denial of the defendant’s right to testify before the grand jury; revisited
The October 17th News Picks email update to New York State Defender Association members (a great organization and valuable source for criminal law developments, $75/year for attorneys, $15/year for students, a bargain at twice the price) included a summary of People v Chappelle, 2014 WL 5285479 [3rd Dept 10/16/14], an important case from the Third Department. Mr. Chappelle was arraigned without counsel. The next day, the prosecution’s notice of the right to testify before...
read moreIs sum and substance good enough for Grand Jury testimony?
The prosecution’s new penchant for videotaping confessions/interrogations raises the following issue. The facts are generally straight forward. The defendant is arrested, detained and interrogated by police investigators. The entire interrogation is video and audio recorded. He starts off denying everything then gradually lets some information slip out, then before you know it he cracks like an egg and admits everything. The tapes vary in length, but generally are 6 – 10 hours long. Lots...
read moreOvercriminalized: America’s use of incarceration as a response to mental illness, substance abuse, and homelessness
This series of short YouTube videos by Brave New Films examines the overuse of incarceration and, in the case of the mentally ill, force – too often deadly physical force – as a means to control those who are unable to toe the imaginary line of the social compact, thereby frightening the rule-bound and risk-averse. The first video, for example, examines the social and economic benefits to utilizing officers and agencies trained in crisis...
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