The Syracuse National Action Network and the Campaign for an Independent Public Defense Commission
Join Forces to Create Change in the Public Defense System Statewide
ALBANY, NY (12/11/2008)(readMedia)-- Members of the Syracuse National Action Network will meet Saturday, December 13th at 10:00 a.m. at the Fountain of Life Church- 700 South Avenue, Syracuse NY to discuss public defense in Syracuse and support for the Campaign for an Independent Public Defense Commission.
The State has a duty to provide legal services in criminal and family court to those who can't afford an attorney, but New York's county-by-county public defense system is broken. A commission appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye called for reform in 2006. That reform includes creation of an Independent Public Defense Commission. This commission would develop enforceable statewide standards for public defense caseloads and other requirements to ensure clients receive effective public defense services mandated by federal and state law. The Kaye Commission also called for state assumption of the costs of public defense to relieve counties from what amounts to a massive underfunded state mandate.
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Committee for an Independent Public Defense Commission
Walter Dixie, 315-474-0922 or Katie Blackburn, 518-944-0594
Recent News
- Justice Fund's Campaign for an Independent Public Defense Commission Decries Cuts to New Public Defense Office
- Wrongful Convictions, Needless Destruction of Lives: New York State's Public Defense Crisis Revealed
- Committee for an Independent Public Defense Commission Calls on Legislature and Governor to Fix Public Defense
- Albany Vigil for Troy Davis, Georgia Death Row Inmate
- Lack of effective public defense could weaken drug law reform effectiveness, justice group says.
- The Syracuse National Action Network and the Campaign for an Independent Public Defense Commission
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