New York State Bar Association Announces Task Force on Modernization of Criminal Practice
8.25.2022
The New York State Bar Association has launched a Task Force on the Modernization of Criminal Practice to suggest new laws and policies to improve safety, fairness, access to justice and efficiency in the administration of criminal justice.
“The criminal justice system has benefited from several reforms in recent years, including more humane bail and parole laws and the Raise the Age Law, but there are opportunities for a more holistic review of criminal practice and the criminal justice system through the post-COVID lens,” said Sherry Levin Wallach, president of the New York State Bar Association.
The task force, which plans to issue a comprehensive report in the next year, is comprised of a broad range of representatives from the criminal justice system, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and parole and sentencing reform advocates.
The task force is chaired by Catherine A. Christian, partner, Liston Abramson, and Andrew Kossover, partner at Kossover Law Offices, and has three subcommittees:
- The Subcommittee on Justice Courts
co-chaired by Greg Lubow and Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley
- The Subcommittee on Sentencing Reform
co-chaired by Hon. Barry Kamins and Kate Cassidy
- The Subcommittee on Technology
co-chaired by Yung Mi Lee and Ronald Hedges
Members of the task force include:
- Hon. James B. Bacon, town justice, New Paltz
- Mark E. Bini, partner, Reed Smith
- Hon. Jerald S. Carter, retired acting county court judge
- Kathleen Elizabeth Cassidy, partner, Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello
- David J. Clegg, Ulster County district attorney
- Xavier Robert Donaldson, partner, Donaldson & Chilliest
- Hon. William C. Donnino, Supreme Court justice, retired
- Sandra J. Doorley. Monroe County district attorney
- Kathleen Dougherty, Onondaga County Bar Association Assigned Counsel Program
- Norman P. Effman, Wyoming County public defender
- Steven B. Epstein, founding partner, Barket Epstein Kearon, Aldea & Loturc
- Amy Orange Finzi, chief assistant, Westchester County District Attorney
- Ronald J. Hedges, senior counsel, Dentons
- Renee Corley Hill, partner, Law Office of Richman Hill & Associates
- Seymour W. James, Jr., partner, Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea & LoTurco
- Hon. Barry Kamins, partner, Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins
- Lila E. Kirton, executive assistant district attorney for intergovernmental affairs & criminal justice initiatives, Westchester County District Attorney
- Yung Mi Lee, legal director, Brooklyn Defender Services
- Greg D. Lubow, principal, Greg D Lubow, Attorney at Law
- Laurette D. Mulry, attorney in charge, Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County
- Karen L. Murtagh, executive director, Prisoners Legal Services of New York
- Andrea Luz Nieves, senior policy analyst, Special Litigation Team, New York County Defender Services
- Leah Rene Nowotarski, assistant public defender, Wyoming County Public Defender
- Hon. Adam Selden, attorney at law, and vice president, Ninth Judicial District, NYSBA Executive Committee
- Jonathan R. Sennett, bureau chief, Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, Queens County District Attorney
- Kevin M. Stadelmaier, 1st deputy defender criminal division, Erie County Assigned Counsel Program
- Hon. Jonah Triebwasser, town justice, Town of Red Hook
- David Louis Cohen, Law Office of David L. Cohen, is the liaison to the New York State Bar Association’s Executive Committee
About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.
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