Council takes mayor to court for blocking law banning solitary on Rikers
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Mayor Eric Adams was sued by the City Council on Monday for his refusal to implement a law banning solitary confinement in the city’s jails.
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Council prepares take Adams admin to court over solitary ban
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The fight over a law banning solitary confinement in the city’s jails continued on Thursday when the City Council opened the door to taking legal action against the Adams administration, which asked a judge last month to allow them to skirt the law’s implementation.
Read MoreJustice delayed: Lengthy stays on Rikers jump as cases slow in courts
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The number of detainees who have had to wait three years or longer on Rikers Island while their cases sluggishly make their way through the court system has increased by nearly 180 percent in the last half decade, according to a new report.
Read MoreOne-fifth of Queens residents in NY prisons are 55 or older, data shows
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Nearly a fifth of all Queens residents behind bars in New York are 55 years or older – and despite being convicted at a far younger age, have few opportunities to advocate for their release, according to new data shared with the Eagle.
Read MoreQueens pol’s bill to expand atty loan forgiveness program passed by Senate
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Both houses of the legislature took major steps this week toward approving legislation from a Queens lawmaker that would increase the amount of student loan forgiveness public interest attorneys who are saddled with debt from law school could receive from the state.
Read MoreGov calls for broader enforcement against illegal pot shops
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Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday renewed her call for increased enforcement against illegal cannabis shops and announced steps to broaden the state’s enforcement through a proposal first introduced through her state budget plan last month.
Read MorePols pitch bill to eliminate mandatory retirement age for some judges
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Lawmakers last week introduced a bill that would eliminate the mandatory retirement age for a group of judges in New York.
Read MoreCalls for elimination of ‘predatory’ court fees come as budget talks begin
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Advocates joined a handful of lawmakers in Albany on Monday to again call on the legislature and the governor to include a bill known as the End Predatory Court Fees Act.
Read More‘Exonerated but not vindicated’: Top court rejects Queens DA’s attempt to reverse wrongful conviction
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The Court of Appeals has rejected an attempt by Queens prosecutors to overturn a ruling made by a mid-level court earlier this year that found that a local man had been wrongfully convicted of a Bayside murder three decades ago.
Read More‘Partial win, partial loss’: Assigned counsel get pay raise but say more is needed
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For the first time in decades, attorneys who represent indigent clients and children on the state’s dime have been given a pay raise.
Read More‘National model to national embarrassment’: BPs call on city to fully fund Right to Counsel
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Four of the city’s five borough presidents, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, said in an open letter this week that the city must do more to fund its Right to Counsel program.
Read MoreAsian American judges remain underrepresented in NY’s courts
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“The Asian American legal community and judicial community has work to do to get our footing in the judiciary.”
Read MoreHistoric 12-week murder trial ends with two 50 year sentences
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The historically long 12-week Queens murder trial that wrapped six-years after the killing is now, finally finished after sentencing on Wednesday. Judge Ira Margulis sentenced both defendants, Shakim Allen and Dreshaun Smith, both 29-years-old and from Jamaica, to 50 years in prison for the 2017 murder of Rocky Kalisaran and the wounding of his brother Sonny – which was the first homicide of that year.
Read MoreQueens pol wants to make it easier to bring class action suits against government
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A Queens lawmaker is pushing a piece of legislation that would make it easier for class action lawsuits to be brought against New York’s state and local governments.
Read More'The War on Smoke Shops': Officials agree, illegal pot enforcement is needed, but how is it working?
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Most officials agree – in order for the legal cannabis market to thrive, the unlicensed market must be tampered down. But enforcement of the unlicensed market has ruffled feathers on both sides of the issue – some have pushed for greater enforcement, while others say the current tactics mirror the enforcement of the failed war on drugs that marijuana legalization in New York State was aimed at rectifying.
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