PRESS RELEASE New York State Contact: Unified Court System Lucian Chalfen, Public Information Director Arlene Hackel, Deputy Director (212) 428-2500 Hon. Janet DiFiore Chief Judge www.nycourts.gov/press Appellate Judges Across the State to Discuss Legal Trends and Issues at Long Island Seminar Suffolk County, New York – Nearly 60 appellate judges from around the State will…

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What Does it Mean for People with Significant Behavioral Health Needs? The City is taking active steps to close the jails on Rikers Island. Toward this end, government officials are working hard to implement systemic changes that will reduce the number of people entering jail and improve services for those currently incarcerated on Rikers Island.…

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ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he intends to restore voting rights to felons on parole, a move that could open the ballot box to more than 35,000 people. The mechanism through which Mr. Cuomo plans to do so is unusual: He would consider pardons for all 35,000 people currently on…

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Spotlighting disparities in jail stays over unpaid court fines in Pennsylvania A helpful reader made sure I saw this impressive piece of reporting from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazetteunder the headline “Modern-day debtors’ prisons? The system that sends Pennsylvanians to jail over unpaid court costs and fines.”  I have probably not given as much attention here as I should to…

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By Leah Pope A report released today from the Pew Charitable Trusts sheds new light on what has long been true but is often overlooked: local jails play a vital role in our nation’s health care safety net, working often as the default response to people with mental health and substance use disorders. Individuals passing…

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Why Does Our Justice System Fight So Hard to Keep Innocent People Behind Bars? Mark Godsey was a “prosecutor’s prosecutor” who didn’t think there were any innocent people in prison. Then he began supervising his law school’s Innocence Project, and realized his assumptions were all wrong.   By Joshua Holland    

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