Manhattan DA, Prosecutors Across the State To Address the Role of Their Offices in Connection With Criminal Justice Reform
1.24.2022
Prominent district attorneys will examine how prosecutors can reform the criminal justice system from the inside out during a meeting hosted by the New York State Bar Association. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, Westchester County DA Mimi Roach and Erie County DA John J. Flynn are scheduled to participate.
The panel, Prosecutors and the Color of Justice: The Role of the Prosecutor in Reforming the Criminal Justice System, will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 26 as part of NYSBA’s Annual Meeting. New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang will moderate. Journalists are encouraged to register to attend.
Criminal justice reform continues to spark debate at the local, state, and federal levels, after more than two years of significant unrest and some policy changes. Critics have blamed an uptick in violent incidents involving guns on New York’s bail reform laws, but states across the country that did not make similar policy changes are also experiencing an increase in violent incidents.
New Manhattan DA Bragg ran on an aggressive reform platform in 2021 but has been under increasing criticism since he took office in January and instructed prosecutors to seek jail time for only the most serious crimes. Bragg is emphasizing alternatives to prison such as reducing pretrial incarceration, focusing on accountability, and providing support to those reentering society after completing their sentences.
The first hour of the Jan. 26 discussion will focus on initiatives to reform the criminal justice system that address racial injustice. In the second hour, there will be a continuing legal education seminar in which the issues outlined during the public forum will be discussed in greater detail. NYSBA’s Task Force on Racism, Social Equity, and the Law is hosting the event as part of its year-long effort to study the issue and make recommendations for change.
The 145th Annual Meeting, running from Jan. 18 to 28, is focusing on more than 65 different topics including Legal Considerations for Using CBD in Developing and Marketing Cosmetics, A Roundup of 2021 Global Data Privacy Developments and A Look at What’s Coming in 2022; College Sports Chaos or Correction; From Alston to NIL to Conference Realignment to 50 Years of Title IX; and The Ethics of Freelance Legal Services: Hiring & Being Hired Including Contracts & Best Practices.
Featured speakers at the Annual Meeting include Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Cannataro; Lily Batchelder, assistant secretary for tax policy, Department of the Treasury; and retired Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Stein, director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School.
For more information on NYSBA’s Annual Meeting, click here. Media are invited to most virtual programs but please notify Susan DeSantis at sdesantis@nysba.org or 201-575-5756 and Brandon Vogel at bvogel@nysba.org or 518-487-5644.
