Libraries are bridges to information and knowledge.

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Yesterday January 19, 2010 New York State Governor David Paterson proposed a 2010-11 Executive Budget that according to a Press Release from the Governor’s Office “makes significant spending reductions in order to eliminate a $7.4 billion deficit and institutes key reforms to put New York on the road to economic and fiscal recovery. The Executive Budget proposal includes spending reductions across every area of the budget; limits State spending to far below both the Governor’s proposed spending cap and the rate of inflation; implements the most significant public higher education reforms in a generation; and provides fiscal relief to local governments through an aggressive mandate reform agenda.”

Below are links to some of the documents related to that proposal. Some of these documents are related primarily to the proposed State of New York Executive Budget as a whole while others include various agency presnetations, A link to State of New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s commentary on the Governors observations regarding the judiciary part of the budget proposal is also included.

Link to Press Release , video presentation and various other documents related to Governors budget Address on January 19:

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In his posting on the Blog Critics Culture Blog, William Lambers explains that bloggers can help Haiti by taking action through spreading the work about the suffering in that country and by showing how others can help. Although Lambers is referring in his post primarily to the World Food Programme, his words aply to blogging assistance in promoting other programs as well.

You may also be interested in the video from the New York State Comptroller regarding Haiti at http://www.osc.state.ny.us/video/haitian_relief.wmv

U.S. White House: Haiti Earthquake Relief

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David Badertscher*

A giant of New York politics and law enforcement recently retired from public office– Robert Morgenthau. Scion to a powerful family, Robert Morgenthau’s grandfather served as United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and his father was Secretary of the Treasury under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. While his famous name and lineage may have helped to open doors, Robert Morgenthau was determined to find a profession where he could navigate his own path in life.

After honorable combat service in the navy during World War 2, where his ship was torpedoed, Robert Morgenthau proceeded to law school and rose to partner in a major law firm. However, Robert Morgenthau largely dedicated his professional career, and indeed his life, to public service. He served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York for an eight year period from 1961 -1969. But he will surely best be remembered for his longstanding and legendary tenure as New York County District Attorney that spanned a thirty-five year period from 1974 – 2009. In this latter capacity, he resuscitated the office which was ravaged by budget problems and made it, what many law enforcement officials consider, the finest district attorney’s office in the nation and possibly the best overall law enforcement office in the nation.

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Since first hearing about the planned closure of of six of the fifteen courthouse libraries in Connecticut I have contacted I have heard from a number of people (both librarians and non-librarians) from throughout that state. By all accounts the announced closures will prevent attorneys, judges and members of the public from accessing the up-to-date legal materials they need. They will especially hurt disadvantaged citizens and pro se litigants, who are especially vulnerable and may be unable to access official legal resources and will be required to struggle to travel to far-away courthouses. While the dire budgetary circumstances are the state currently faces are understandable, it is essential that Connecticut’s public law libraries and courthouses remain open. They are irreplaceable.

To help spread the word, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has been working closely with the Southern New England Librarians Association (SNELLA) to oppose the announced closures . Kate Hagan the AALL Executive Director has distibuted an e-mail (see below) which details that effort. It includes some useful links for those who want to become active in saving Connecticut court libraries.

People are also urged to search the directory of state legislators and government employees at the of Connecticut Website for other contacts that could be helpful in this effort. This web site includes a directory of state employees, a directory of state legislators, and a directory of federal legislators serving Connecticut, all with links for e-mail contact information.

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January 11, 2010 No. 08-809.

The defendant, Troy Brown, had alleged on appeal that the state mischaracterized the probability that his DNA matched that of someone in the general population. He also claimed that a prosecution expert had misstated the chances of a DNA match between himself and his two brothers. All three lived near the victim.

“DNA evidence remains powerful inculpatory evidence even though the state concedes [its expert] overstated its probative value,” the Supreme Court wrote in McDaniel v. Brown.

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What recourse does a criminal defense defense attorney have if he or she learns a client has committed a crime ascribed to someone else? On the one hand, as Ken Strutin writes in his article “Wrongful Convictions and Attorney-Client Confidentiality” published at LLRX.COM, “When an innocent person faces conviction, imprisonment, and in some cases death, an attorney mindful of the injustice occuring to a third party is still bound by the rules of confidentialtiy to honor their commitment to their client” But as Mr. Strutin also points out, ABA MRPC Rule 1.6 Confidentiality of Information creates an exception to confidentiality and this exception in turn creates what can become a very difficult ethical quandry for the attorney.

In addition to identifying the relevant issues, the primary focus of his article is to search for ways to resolve this dilemma by examininig both resources about several notable cases and approaches to possible resolution discussed in the scholarly literature .

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The following is from a letter sent by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to OMB Director Peter Orszag requesting full federal funding to reimburse the City for security costs associated with Terrorism Trials to be held in Manhattan.

January 5, 2010

The Honorable Peter R. Orszag

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During every session of the New York Legislature the current governor and his staff prepare bills addressing his or her objectives to be introduced directly in the legislature by the Governor. While it is assumed that legislatures in other states have similar mechanisms, this posting is only concernd with Governor’s programs in the State of New York.

When first introduced, these program bills are only sponsored by the Governor but once they have been introduced, members of the legislature can and often do add their names as sponsors. It is my understanding that once such a bill is introduced the process by which it works its way through the legislature is similar to other legislation except that if such a bill is amended while under consideration, it is then sent back to the Governor’s office for review, further modification etc.

In conversations I have had with people in the Governor’s office it was emphasized that Governor’s Programs should not be considered identical with other legislation introduced directly by individuall or groups of legislators and that Budget programs are separate from the Governor’s Program being discussed here. During those conversations the following book was recemmended as an excellent source for further information on this topic:

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A List of New York State Chapter Laws Signed in 2009. Arranged in decending order. Includes Chapter Numbers, Bill Numbers and Titles
To retrieve the text of any of the New York Chapter laws listed below, go to http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi

507 S66007 KLEIN — Relates to home mortgage loans, the crime of mortgage fraud, and appropriations to the NYS housing trust fund corporation

506 A40012 Rules (Brodsky) — Creates the authorities budget office; repealer

505 A2209C Brodsky — Creates an independent authority budget office; repealer

504 A40026 Rules (Silver) — Provides retirement benefits for new entrants to certain public retirement systems

503 A40023 Budget — Implements savings adjustments to the state fiscal plan

502 A40022 Budget — Amends various provisions of chapters of the laws 2009 making appropriations for the support of government

501 A40021 Budget — Authorizes commissioner of taxation and finance to administer accounts receivable discount program with respect to certain overdue tax liabilities

500 A40011 Rules (Destito) — Authorizes term appointments without examination for certain information technology positions

499 S66009 BRESLIN — Relates to the licensure of life settlement brokers; creates certain crimes relating to life settlement fraud; relates to premium finance agreement; repealer

498 S66006 BRESLIN — Establishes a special enrollment period for employees and members with expired health coverage who wish to utilize state continuation benefits
497 S66004A THOMPSON — Authorizes municipalities to create a municipal sustainable energy loan program

496 A40008 Rules (Weisenberg) — Relates to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs with a child passenger

495 S66005 VALESKY — Relates to eligibility of certain felony offenders for parole and medical parole

494 S66002 STEWART-COUSINS — Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary for the efficient operation of local governments; repealer

493 A8924 Hoyt — Establishes the crime of aggravated interference with health care services in the first and second degrees

492 A7779 Rosenthal — Relates to the duties of the municipal police training council

491 A5643 Farrell — Raises minimum salary of each of the county clerks of the counties comprising the city of New York to that of supreme court justices instead of civil court judges Continue reading

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