When Prisons Locked Down, Prisoners Were Denied Release
Leaving prison often hinges on completing rehabilitative programming. The pandemic caused many of these required courses to be put on hold.
Legal Aid Society
Daniel Moritz-Rabson
New York City Has People on Parole In Jails At Rates Not Seen Since The Early Pandemic
Despite calls to reduce incarcerated populations, the number of people being detained for minor parole violations has been rising.
New York City Public Defenders Oppose Resuming In-Person Court Appearances
The advocates describe the reopening as unsafe and unnecessary amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NYPD ‘Cancelled’ Police Court Appearances, Leaving People to Sit in Jail
Memos obtained by The Appeal and anecdotes from public defenders reveal how, for a week during protests over police brutality, the NYPD stalled cases by directing officers not to testify in court.
A Transgender Woman’s Attorneys Fear She Won’t Survive Her 60-Month Sentence
New York attorneys have launched a campaign to release transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary prisoners during the pandemic.
Parole Violations Nearly Sentenced These People To COVID-19
Twenty-eight people were to attend weeks-long drug treatment programs after violating parole. The COVID-19 pandemic nearly trapped them in jail indefinitely.
New York City Jails Have an Alarmingly High Infection Rate, According to an Analysis by the Legal Aid Society
“Based on this analysis, New York City jails have become the epicenter of COVID-19,” a Legal Aid attorney said.
New York City Courts Still Dangerous For Spread of Coronavirus, Public Defenders Say
While those facing charges appear by video at arraignments, all others—attorneys, officers, the judge—are in the courtroom in close quarters, defense attorneys say.
New York City Agency Has Underreported Lab Errors In DNA Database It Oversees
At least one error led to a wrongful arrest, according to a Freedom of Information Law request, underscoring the need for better oversight of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, advocates say.
Hundreds of Victim and Witness DNA Profiles Removed From New York City Database
Advocates say the removals are more evidence of a troubling and unregulated law enforcement tool, overseen by the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
For The First Time, A Vote For Marijuana Legalization In The House
On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee voted 24-10 in favor of the MORE Act, which would legalize marijuana at the federal level.
Nearly 600,000 New Yorkers Are Eligible to Have Their Records Sealed. Fewer Than 1,800 of Them Have Succeeded.
The results of record-sealing legislation enacted in 2017 shows the need for automatic expungement, advocates say.
Convicted Of A Deadly Crime As A Teen, He Worked For Decades To Get A Second Chance At Life
Richard Rivera served more than 38 years in prison after killing an off-duty NYPD officer during a botched armed robbery. He was released in July after being denied parole five times.
New York Law Removes ‘Unnecessary’ Step for Children Charged With Felonies
16-year-olds won’t have to reappear in adult criminal court if they’re arrested when youth court isn’t in session.
New York City’s Homeless Diversion Program is ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ Reform, Advocates Say
A new effort to reduce arrests and summonses is criticized as continuing to criminalize homelessness.
New Reports Highlight Behavior of Port Authority Police in ‘Lewd Act’ Arrests
Expert reports in a 2017 federal lawsuit explore an alleged pattern of discrimination against men perceived to be gay.
Trans Woman’s Death in Rikers is Still a Mystery. But Why Was She There At All?
Though little is known about how Layleen Polanco died, advocates say her story highlights New York City’s flawed approach to criminal justice.
This Grandfather Was Granted Parole in 2018. Why Is He Still in Prison?
Imprisoned as a teen, Amer Zada is now eligible for release but can’t find approved housing—and a proposed law could make the problem worse.
The Appeal Podcast: The Long, Troubled History of Gravity Knife Prosecution
With Appeal contributor Jon Campbell
Queens D.A.’s Office Blasted for ‘Spiteful’ Treatment of People on Probation or Parole
As the borough’s district attorney race takes shape, advocates press for changes to the office’s approach to people who reoffend.
New York Lawmaker Announces Sweeping Challenge to Gravity Knife Law
Opponents of the law say it unfairly targets people who need knives for work, and are battling it on multiple fronts.
Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints
The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with.
Judge Attacks NYPD Practice of Seizing Teens’ DNA Without Parental Consent
The decision also held that the city’s routine storage of DNA profiles from nonconvicted people in a permanent database violates state law.
New York Just Changed the Way it Prosecutes Kids, But Some Got Left Behind
Under Raise the Age, ‘there are kids similarly situated who are being treated totally differently.’
Despite New Rules, NYC Is Still Jailing People Long After They Post Bail
A new Bronx Freedom Fund report documents these extended pretrial lockups, which threaten people’s jobs and destabilize families.
Two Cops Said They Saw A Man Grope Women. The Women Disagreed. The DA Charged Him Anyway
An 11-month prosecution of a ‘forcible touching’ case in Manhattan sharply diverges from the office’s treatment of Harvey Weinstein, defense attorneys say.
Internal Documents Reveal How Bronx Prosecutors Are Taught to Slow Down Cases
The tactics outlined encourage courtroom ‘dishonesty’ and ‘gamesmanship,’ legal experts argue.
More Than A Month After Anti-ICE Protests, Detained NYC Immigrants Still Denied In-Person Hearings
Their attorneys say the new video-teleconferencing policy is exacerbating backlogs and prolonging detention.
Family, Former Attorney of Queens Woman Who Fell to Her Death in Vice Sting Say She Was Sexually Assaulted, Pressured to Become an Informant
Yang Song fell four stories onto a sidewalk in Flushing, Queens on the night of November 25th. An officer with the New York City Police Department accompanied her, unconscious, to New York Presbyterian Hospital where doctors placed her on a respirator. They worked for hours: the 35 units of blood they transfused did not take, given the severity of her injuries from the thirty foot fall.
