New York Assembly passes bill requiring state pay full cost of lawyers for poor defendants

Syracuse.com:

New York would have to pay the $372 million a year that counties are now spending to provide lawyers to poor defendants accused of crimes under a bill unanimously approved Thursday by the state Assembly.

The bill now goes to the state Senate, where Sen. John DeFrancisco, the deputy majority leader, has said its passage is one of his top priorities this year.

Under the Assembly bill, the full cost of providing legal counsel to indigent defendants would gradually shift from the counties to the state over seven years, beginning in 2017. New York only partially reimburses counties for this cost now...

The bill would save counties huge amounts of money. Small counties like Cayuga County, in Central New York, are paying about $835,000 a year for indigent legal services. In Erie County, surrounding Buffalo, taxpayers are paying $11 million a year.

More here.

New national protocol for pediatric sexual abuse examinations

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a national protocol for Sexual Abuse Medical Forensic Examinations-Pediatric (Pediatric SAFE Protocol).

The protocol is designed for health care providers who conduct sexual abuse medical forensic examinations of prepubescent children and other professionals involved in an initial response to child sexual abuse. It has three main goals: "address the health care needs of prepubescent children who disclose sexual abuse or for whom sexual abuse is suspected; promote their healing; and gather forensic evidence for potential use within the criminal justice and/or child protection systems."

The protocol notes that "in the case of prepubescent children who display problem sexualized behaviors, examinations should be done by health care providers as these children may also be victims of sexual abuse."

More information about SAFE examinations is available here and here.

U.S. Department of Labor announces new overtime rules

The United States Department of Labor has finalized its overtime rule amending the “white collar” exemptions to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

This rule is expected to cause 4.2 million employees nationwide, including some 380,000 in New York State, to become eligible for overtime pay.

The Department estimates that the new rule will cost employers approximately $12 billion over the next ten years.

For more on the new rules click here.

Schuyler County to offer Medicare 101

These classes are open to anyone and provide participants with basic knowledge of Medicare. If you are caregiver, social worker, Medicare recipient or just planning for retirement this is an excellent opportunity.

New York State Domestic Incident Report Revised

The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) has redesigned the Domestic Incident Report (DIR) form "to improve its format and enhance its effectiveness and usability by law enforcement professionals.

These improvements make it easier to complete the form accurately and allow law enforcement to capture additional information, making the form more useful to law enforcement and enhancing the data included in the state's Domestic Incident Report Repository."

The DIR instructions also include "a list of some frequently seen offenses in domestic violence incidents." DCJS has produced an online training program about using the new DIR, which takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Additional documents provided with the training include an overview of the DIR Repository, a community action toolkit for addressing intimate partner violence against transgender people, and information about strangulation, including symptoms, visible signs, and interview questions

May 1 is Law Day: Commitment to the rule of law

Law Day is held on May 1st every year to celebrate the role of law in our society and to cultivate a deeper understanding of the legal profession.

This year’s Law Day theme is “Miranda: More than Words.” In 2016, the nation marks the 50th anniversary of perhaps the nation’s best-known U.S. Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona. The Miranda Warning, which was developed in response to this landmark ruling, apprises suspects being interrogated by police of their right to remain silent and their right to legal representation. This year’s theme provides an opportunity to explore our criminal justice system and the importance of procedural fairness and equal justice under the law.

Law Day is an annual commemoration first held in 1957 when the American Bar Association envisioned a special national day to mark our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. The following year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Law Day Proclamation. Law Day was made official in 1961 when Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1 as the official date for celebrating Law Day.

Schuyler County will participate in drug take-back

Elmira Star-Gazette:

Several area law enforcement agencies will take part in an April 30 prescription drug take-back initiative sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. All events will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day.

The Schuyler County Sheriff's Office will hold a drug take-back at the Odessa Fire Station, 300 E. Main St., and the Tyrone Fire Station, 3600 State Route 226.

The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked. The purpose of the national drug take-back is to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.

Medications (preferably in original containers with labels intact), ointments and sprays will be accepted. Needles cannot be accepted.

Counties’, District Attorney’s, associations call on New York State to cure unfunded salary mandate

The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) and the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York (DAASNY) have sent a joint letter to state leaders asking them to enact a chapter amendment to the State Budget or separate legislation that will provide state reimbursement to counties for the mandated DA salary increase.

Recently, the NYS Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation voted to recommend an increase in state judge’s salaries in 2016 and 2018. Without objection by the State, the recommendations became law on April 1, 2016.

Of concern to county government is the state law that links District Attorney salaries to judicial salaries. Historically, when the State has adjusted the judicial salaries, it has reimbursed counties for the increase in DA salaries through the State Budget. Unfortunately, the recently enacted state budget does not cover the recent increases.

The letter notes:

DAs are entitled to the fair and just compensation pursuant to law for fulfilling the state constitutional and statutory duties related to the enforcement of the State Penal Law. However, any state mandated increase to a local government official’s salary, as a matter of equity and fairness, must be met by the State… While the $1.6 million may seem miniscule in the face of a $150 billion spending plan, it amounts to a significant portion of a county’s allowable tax growth under the state-imposed property tax cap.

It has been reported that the mandate will hit smaller counties especially hard.

For more on this unfunded mandate, click here.

Schuyler County forum to address underage drinking

The Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Drugs (SCCUDD) will host a community forum in light of Alcohol Awareness Month at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (April 19) in the Watkins Glen Elementary School auditorium.

Attendees will hear from county teens and learn about underage drinking consequences, prevention and the legal consequences of providing youth with alcohol. Attendees will also be able to try on impairment awareness goggles to see how alcohol can impair their ability to do simple tasks at the beginning of the forum.

For more information, click here.

New York State overhauls assigned counsel eligibility rules

New York State officials have announced new Criteria and Procedures for Determining Assigned Counsel Eligibility.

These criteria and procedures are an important step toward the goal of having a uniform and legally acceptable eligibility standard in New York for people who are entitled by law to the assistance of counsel but who are financially unable to obtain counsel.

The criteria and procedures respond to decades of criticism of the state’s failure to have a consistent set of criteria and procedures for determining eligibility for assigned counsel, under which a defendant may be deemed eligible for the appointment of counsel in one county and ineligible in a neighboring county or even in a different court within the same county.

Their effective date is October 3, 2016. During this six-month period, judges and eligibility screeners will receive training in their implementation.

For more information, click here.