Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley says she may seek an exception to the order to halt convening grand juries.
Criminal justice
Posted inNews & Opinion
Momentum grows for revisions to state’s bail reform laws
The leader of the New York State Senate says it’s likely that changes will soon be made to the state’s new bail reform laws, which end most forms of cash bail for nonviolent offenses. Meanwhile, the state’s chief judge also called for amendments to the laws.
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Police officials call for delay on criminal justice reforms
Law enforcement officials from across the state are calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to pause new bail laws and other criminal justice reform measures that go into effect on January 1. Rochester-area law enforcement leaders joined together Thursday to publicly make their request. They were part of a statewide show of force by the law […]
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Groups take aim at Project Exile
Civil liberties and criminal justice reform groups are calling on Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley to pull out of a federal program that has some local gun cases turned over to federal prosecutors. Federal charges for gun crimes carry harsher sentences than state charges. Representatives of three groups – Enough is Enough, Citizen Action […]
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Keeping the mentally ill out of prison
Ronnie Cox speaks in a soft, gentlemanly voice. His thinning, curly black hair is speckled with white, and his left hand wobbles with a slight tremor when he talks. Cox, who is 64, spent 16 years in prison. He was addicted to heroin and cocaine, and he contracted hepatitis C, a viral infection that often […]
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Progress made on legal aid for the poor
A US Supreme Court ruling guarantees poor defendants the right to a government-provided attorney. But in New York, a patchwork system of public defender’s offices has meant that the quality of representation that defendants get can depend entirely on the county their case is in. Larger counties such as Monroe have full-time, fully staffed public […]
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Feedback 12/21
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Mothers of jailed children lean on each other
Greta Anderson came home from church that summer Sunday afternoon, relaxed with a cup of tea in her favorite chair, and talked to a co-worker on the phone. The TV was on, she says, but she wasn’t paying much attention to it until she looked over and saw her son’s face on the screen. She […]
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Bills seek public defense funding
New York has a patchwork system for providing defense attorneys for poor people charged with crimes. Some counties hire attorneys in private practice to represent the clients, though at far below their usual rates, while the larger counties have their own staffs of full-time public defenders, whose caseloads are often far heavier than they should […]
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Cuomo acts to help young offenders
New York is one of two states that treat 16- and 17-year-old offenders the same way that they treat adult criminals. As a result, these teens are saddled with criminal records, which can make it harder for them to get jobs later in life, even if they’ve stayed out of trouble since their initial offense. […]
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Drawing the line on sex offenders
Len Douangtavilay, a Level 3 sex offender, once lived 200 feet from athletic fields used by Penfield youth. The discovery of this fact has prompted Penfield officials to propose residency restrictions on sex offenders, potentially putting Penfield in conflict with state law. New York’s courts assign sex offenders a Level 1, 2, or 3 designation, […]
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Greens try direct approach for campaigns
Green Party candidates have been bypassing traditional media and using other channels, such as social media and webcasts, to try to directly reach voters.
