Heres what you should know to prevent wrongful discrimination. Campos was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. No physical evidence linked Sims to the crime. By Rebecca Davis OBrien and Troy Closson. 40 Worth Street, Suite 606. Today, DNA testing has developed to a point where reinvestigation, reanalysis, or retesting of biological evidence can help prove innocence. 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.. Biography Early life and education. Hale then obtained a material witness order for Graves fiance as well, even though she was never called to testify at trial. Requests for review must be done by letter or email. {{ "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?' He pleaded guilty in 2011 and was sentenced to a prison term of a minimum 37 years. Help us raise awareness about the causes, costs, and remedies of wrongful conviction each year on October 2. 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. Legal Services NYC. The Corporate Lawyer Moonlighting as a New York Assemblymember. Sims said he told his trial counsel that he saw Graves commit the crime and asked to testify, but that the lawyer advised him not to testify. It is my belief Mr. Graves will indicate he in fact saw the defendant shoot and kill the deceased in this case. From 2014 until Thompsons death in the fall of 2016, Brooklyns unit exonerated 21 people. 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. In that case, officers were found to have planted evidence, falsified records and rewarded informants with drugs. Wrongful conviction lawyers have submitted the case to the Queens DA's Conviction Integrity Unit. Hes now 46. The mainstream media can make a difference and help curb wrongful convictions here in the United States. 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 . Under New Yorks 2021 legalization law, several old and new penal law marijuana convictions will be automatically expunged. In a trial that Sims and his attorneys say was marred by false testimony and improperly withheld evidence, Sims was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. 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. Yet, when he appeared at trial, Graves testified that he was in court voluntarily and that he regularly checked in with his probation officer. It was based almost entirely on Julius Graves recantation of his testimony in 2002. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. As a result, the Unit has been able to take on more clients, reinvestigate their cases and advocate for their exoneration and release. They cannot be made over the phone. Please register prior to March 10th. When questioned by the trial judge after the witnesss outburst, Hale initially denied any knowledge of a lie detector test. If you are looking to donate, get involved, or get assistance, find and connect to your local Network organization here. he did not see who shot the victim and did not know who did. DECISION AND ORDER BRENDA K. SANNES Chief District Judge. 5 The National Registry of Exonerations, "Exonerations in 2018" (Apr. Hale had also falsely told Campos trial counsel that the witness had never recanted. 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. More than half of wrongful convictions can be traced to witnesses who lied in court or made false accusations. | translate }}, {{ 'Find and save resources 24/7 from anywhere' | translate }}, {{ 'Get the free One Degree App. Under a recent New York State law (CPL 160.59), some people may be able to get their criminal convictions sealed. The judge admonished Hale for committing prosecutorial misconduct. She struck the witnesss testimony, but allowed the case to proceed. Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. 9, 2019). Skip to Job Postings. 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. Hale was the trial prosecutor. Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit. All rights reserved. For more than two decades, Sims has tried to overturn his conviction in the appellate courts, without success. Early-bird registration for the 2023 Innocence Network Conference is NOW OPEN. 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. Donate today, Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations. . 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. 2023 The Legal Aid Society. Copyright 2022 The City University of New York School of Law | 2 Court Square, Long Island City, NY 11101-4356 | Phone: 718-340-4200 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. New York, NY 10038. Each of the NYC DA offices are currently reinvestigating our cases. According to Coopers civil complaint, two eyewitnesses said they recognized the assailant and it was not Cooper. When he went to prison, his wife, Kisha, brought their children to visit every weekend. He and Graves then ran out of the restaurant. matter, or that someone stop behaving in a way that interferes with another . Access to legal aid translates into access to justice for the poor, the marginalized, and the disadvantaged. Anthony Sims case shows the conflict of interest inherent in Conviction Review Units led by former prosecutors, critics say. Ideally, the new head should have criminal defense experience, to be able to bring a fresh perspective to the unit.. A conviction may be classified as wrongful for two reasons: 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. Pro Bono Scholar, Wrongful Conviction Unit at The Legal Aid Society I want to support him now because hes another one of the many individuals thats in there for something he didnt do, said Cooper. Sims trial counsel has since died. Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit New York, NY. This conference is for Defense Attorneys only. How did it get to that point? From 1990 to 2013, the Brooklyn DAs office was run by Charles Hynes, under whom more than 100 people were wrongfully convicted, in some cases serving decades in prison before being exonerated. View Case Acceptance Criteria. We cannot stand behind a criminal conviction where the essential law enforcement witness has been convicted of crimes which irreparably impair their credibility, said District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. Nearly 75% of Defender Clinic students intern at The Legal Aid Society. 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. He said he forgave him years ago, during a family visit. The site contains instructions and forms for applying for commutations and pardons. 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 Students gain knowledge and first-hand practice experience in various criminal legal contexts, such as trial, post-conviction, parole, clemency, and reentry cases. 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 . Under a recent New York State law (CPL 160.59), some people may be able to get their criminal convictions sealed. 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.. This involved evaluating court documents, conducting investigations, presenting to a panel of academic and legal professionals, and devising a new method of archiving documents for the project. I would just hear them screaming Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!. , the Brooklyn DAs office has claimed that Hale did not review Sims case. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. New York, New York, United States . Clemency District Attorney, Major Crimes Division, Legal Aid Society, Seymour James, Lee Long, NYPD, Lamar Palmer, . Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. 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. In April 2021, Mr. Gonzalez asked the court to dismiss 90 convictions involving Mr. Franco. c/o The Legal Aid Society Gothamist is a website about New York City news, arts, events and food, brought to you by New York Public Radio. In another case, Hale prosecuted Vladymir Campos, 22, for the 1997 murder of 16-year-old Felix Gonzalez. Maintaining his innocence, he was retried and convicted again to life in prison. 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 Legal Aid Society can assist with wrongful convictions, applications for commutation and pardon, and the sealing of past criminal records. 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. At the time of trial, he hadnt checked in with his probation officer for close to three years. . Had we known about these officers, we would never have brought these cases.. We are excited that this collaboration with the Wrongful Conviction Unit will provide more access to legal advocacy for incarcerated New Yorkers, while also growing CUNY Laws relationship with the Legal Aid Society, one of our closest partners, said Nicole Smith Futrell, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Defenders Clinic.