NYSBA’s top priority for ’16: Fund the courts

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Adequate funding for the courts at both the state and federal levels is one of the New York State Bar Association’ top legislative priorities for 2016.

Also topping the list at the state level are access to justice for the poor, reducing wrongful convictions, raising the age of criminal responsibility and modernizing the state Election Law.

Federal priorities include ensuring adequate funding for the federal courts and the Legal Services Corporation, supporting efforts to increase voter participation and opposing measures that would restrict the ability of states to determine how injured individuals can pursue legal remedies.

“Our 2016 legislative priorities focus on enhancing justice and fairness in New York and the nation,” NYSBA President David P. Miranda said in a press release Monday. “We urge the state Legislature and Congress to act on these measures.”

The association’s executive committee approved the list last month. A full version is available here. Its 2016 priorities include these:

State priorities
Courts and access to justice: In calling on the governor and Legislature to provide adequate funding, the NYSBA cited the settlement in the class action lawsuit, Hurrell-Harring v. State, in which New York state agreed to provide funds for adequate legal defense for the poor in the five counties that were named in the suit.

“In addition to funding for those five counties, the state should increase support and relief to all New York localities in fulfilling the mandate of the U.S. and New York constitutions to provide effective assistance of counsel for indigent criminal defendants,” the bar association said.

It asks for $100 million in the Judiciary budget to provide civil legal assistance to low-income New Yorkers who face life-altering civil legal problems, including child custody, eviction, foreclosure or denial of government benefits.

Wrongful conviction: Last June, the NYSBA, the Innocence Project and District Attorneys Association of the State of New York announced agreement wrongful conviction legislation. A bill (S.5875-A and A.8157-A) was introduced by Senator Michael F. Nozzolio, R-Seneca County, chair of the Senate Codes Committee, and Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, D-Brooklyn, chair of the Assembly Codes Committee. Later that month, the state Senate approved the bill.

Raising the age of criminal responsibility: Unlike in the majority of states, in New York, children as young as 16 years old can be prosecuted as adults for criminal offenses. “Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 would recognize what science tells us and would allow adolescents to benefit from programs and services available for children whose cases are heard in Family Court,” the NYSBA says.

Enhance voter participation: Noting that New York’s voter participation rates continue to decline, the NYSBA wants New Yorkers to be permitted to register to vote online when contacting state agencies and on Election Day. It also proposes allowing early voting and recommends streamlining ballot design to minimize voter confusion; enhanced training for polling place workers; and increasing criminal penalties for deceptive election practices and voter registration fraud.

Federal priorities
Passing the Voting Rights Amendment Act, which NYSBA says would “provide a new approach to determining which jurisdictions would be subject to pre-clearance” – the requirement that changes to voter laws be reviewed by the Department of Justice or the federal courts. In Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the formula used to determine which states and jurisdictions were subject to pre-clearance review, because it relied on historic voting patterns from the 1960s.

Immigration representation: “The fate of immigrants who face civil immigration detention, removal and likely permanent expulsion from the United States is often undermined by the lack of available competent counsel necessary to navigate the ‘labyrinthine character of modern immigration law.’ Without competent counsel in immigration proceedings, a vast majority of noncitizens are ill-equipped to know where to turn for help or how to proceed in an immigration matter. The State Bar Association is committed to enactment of a statutory right to appointed counsel to ensure justice for immigrants who are confronted with legal proceedings.”

Criminal justice reform, including reducing certain mandatory-minimum sentences, providing judges with greater sentencing discretion, limiting solitary confinement of juveniles and allowing sealing convictions of juveniles in certain circumstances, and preserve cooperation incentives to aid law enforcement in tracking down kingpins.

“The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015, a bi-partisan agreement by leaders of the U.S. Senate, addresses these issues,” the NYSBA said.
The priorities also include the Pay Check Fairness Act, to revise remedies for enforcing prohibitions against sex discrimination in payment of wages, paid family leave, and the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act ( S.786), sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

The NYSBA also wants a hands-off approach by the federal government to regulation of the tort system, and it opposes the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (S.401, H.R. 758). Under a prior law, it says, “federal lawsuits often became entangled with unnecessary litigation over sanctions-significantly diminishing the efficiency of the courts, adding to litigation costs and delaying the resolution of cases. This bill would reinstitute those destructive practices, and should be opposed.”