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What's New? | Faculty in the News |  News Archive | News Home
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State Takeover of Indigent Defense System in Crisis A judicial commission co-chaired by Professor William E. Hellerstein issued a report, released by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye on June 28, which calls for the state to take over the administration of legal services to the poor. The report concluded that there is “a crisis in the delivery of defense services to the indigent throughout New York State and that the right to effective assistance of counsel, guaranteed by both the federal and state constitutions, is not being provided to a large portion of those who are entitled to it." Indigent criminal defendants in New York are routinely denied even minimally acceptable defense services, the report said, partially because there is no statewide oversight and largely due to a "grievous lack of adequate funding by the state." New York is only one of six other states that does not have statewide responsibility for the oversight of public defense services. The 30-member Commission on the Future of Indigent Defense Services, also co-chaired by former state Supreme Court Justice Burton B. Roberts, was appointed by Chief Judge Kaye in May 2004. She was joined at a press conference by co-chairs Hellerstein and Roberts and by New York State Bar Association President Mark H. Alcott of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and New York City Bar Association President and commission member Barry Kamins of Flamhaft Levy Kamins Hirsch & Rendeiro, who is an adjunct faculty member at Brooklyn Law School. All spoke of the urgent need for total structural reform. Hellerstein is an expert in criminal law, and in particular, constitutional litigation. He is also an experienced civil rights and appellate advocacy authority, having served for 16 years as Attorney-in-Charge of the Legal Aid Society's Criminal Appeals Bureau. He established the Law School’s Second Look Program, which investigates and litigates claims of innocence by prisoners whose appellate remedies have run their course. The report was most critical of the state's nearly 1,300 town and village courts, which have jurisdiction over misdemeanors and preliminary jurisdiction over felonies, saying they frequently deny poor defendants all legal representation. A consulting group hired by the commission found an almost arbitrary system in these courts, whose judges often have little or no legal training. Chief Judge Kaye said the Office of Court Administration will do everything in its power to address the issue in the short term. However, the issue will need to be taken up by the next governor and the Legislature. Read the commission report and supporting documents. Read the New York Times account. Read the New York Law Journal account (PDF). Read more about Professor Hellerstein.
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