Theodore Hamm is chair of journalism and new media studies at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn. He is the editor of Frederick Douglass in Brooklyn (Akashic Books, 2017).
‘For the first time, the DA’s office released a public report on an overturned conviction. Yet while it describes the police investigation, trial and subsequent findings in considerable detail, the report conspicuously does not name the lead prosecutor in the case.’
The judge—who seemed to signal solidarity with the jogger’s family, is related to two assistant DAs and sided with the prosecution on key rulings in the Chanel Lewis trial—has had at least 42 cases reversed or modified by the appellate division since 2004.
There are more than 40 judges in Brooklyn’s civil court. But only three hear residential foreclosure cases. Why?
… though not as much as they would have if there had been a primary race.
The mayor quite conceivably can limp along through the next 3.5 years as a large but very lame duck, responding only to the headlines while plotting out his future plans. There’s still ample time for the mayor to push a big-ticket agenda, however.
As the candidates for Brooklyn district attorney prepare to debate, defense lawyers and a bail advocate say that cash bail is still requested too often under acting DA Eric Gonzalez.
Acting DA Eric Gonzalez leads the field of Democratic primary candidates but more than two in five voters remain undecided, according to a poll by one of the campaigns bringing up the rear.
As candidates for Brooklyn district attorney debate bail policy, campaign donations from the bail-bond industry have come under scrutiny.
A point of contention among the candidates is how much the DA’s office is currently doing to limit the use of bail in cases involving alleged misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.
Amidst the splash created by Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to close Rikers, it’s somewhat surprising that there hasn’t been more attention to the future of broken-windows policing.