CDANY Applauds Senate One House Bill Which Acknowledges
The Work of Criminal Defense Attorneys and Adds Funding for Discovery Reform

On Tuesday, March 14, Senator Stewart-Cousins released a Resolution in response to the 2023-2024 Executive Budget submission expressing the position of the New York State Senate relating to the 2023-2024 New York State Budget. Mark Funk, President of the Chief Defenders Association of New York (CDANY), an association of Chiefs of indigent defense providers and Public Defenders statewide, said “we greatly appreciate that the Senate recognizes the importance of the work of public defense institutions in New York State with the addition of $47 million to support Criminal Defender services, plus an added $40 million to support Discovery Reform for Criminal Defenders. This funding, if allocated in the final budget process, will go a long way to equal the playing field with prosecutors who received similar funding in the Governor’s proposed budget.”

These allocations will fund reciprocal responsibilities of prosecutors and defense attorneys to provide timely disclosure of evidence pursuant to discovery reform enacted in 2019. Prosecutors and defense attorneys alike have borne the brunt of increased workloads due to the new law. Both sides have suffered attrition and recruitment issues due to the stress of discovery obligations. Additional funding will enable these organizations on both sides of the criminal justice equation to hire more staff, including paralegals who have provided support in fulfilling discovery duties.

“As we prepare to celebrate the Sixtieth Anniversary of Gideon, the landmark right to counsel case, it is encouraging that public defenders in New York get this recognition,” said Funk. “It’s long overdue.”

On March 13, CDANY President Mark Funk was quoted in the New York Law Journal about Public Defense Funding, specifically about the need created by discovery reform. 

Public Defenders Lobby for Funding Parity With Prosecutors - Brian Lee

PDs are asking Albany lawmakers for $132 million, which they say would mirror the allocations provided to the district attorneys this year and last year for which no funds were provided to the defense. They are planning to converge on the New York Capitol on March 22.

March 13, 2023 

From The Article: 

"Mark Funk, president of the Chief Defenders Association of New York, said discovery issues are more acute for public defenders.

'I’m not minimizing what the DAs have to do—they have to provide the information to us,” Funk said. “But we have to review it, and not only review it, but then review it with our clients and discuss it with them so they can make intelligent decisions regarding their case.'

'I think the burden is even more acute for us because we have to sit through those hours of body-cam footage or hours of surveillance videos and things like that,' he said."

Click Here for Full Article

On March 9, 2023, CDANY President Mark Funk's Important Commentary Was Published in the Times Union: 

Commentary: Hochul’s justice system budget skimps on defense

Without more funding for public defenders, justice will remain out of reach for too many New Yorkers.

From the Commentary: 

"Yes, the governor proposed nearly $100 million for district attorneys, an increase of $87 million over last year. But she allocated a comparatively paltry $7.5 million in “aid to defense” for public defenders. This follows $40 million provided to district attorneys last year that was likewise unmatched for public defenders. The budget also increased the hourly rate for “18-b” attorneys (private attorneys that accept cases on an ad hoc basis) but failed to fund the proposed long-needed raise, leaving it to the counties to foot the bill."

Click Here To Read The Full Commentary

CDANY has sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul urging her to sign S.2144/A.2441, which has passed both houses of the legislature. The bill would modernize the definition of mental illness in the NYS Correction Law.

S.2144/A.2441 would replace the outdated definition of “serious mental illness” in the Correction Law, instead tying it to the definition of the term in Mental Hygiene Law § 1.03(52) which flexibly relies on the “most recent version” of the DSM.

The Mental Hygiene Law defines a person with serious mental illness as “individuals who meet criteria established by the commissioner of mental health, which shall include persons who are in psychiatric crisis, or persons who have a designated diagnosis of mental illness under the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and whose severity and duration of mental illness results in substantial functional disability. Persons with serious mental illness shall include children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances.” § 1.03(52).

Read the full letter here (PDF).

On Monday, December 12th, CDANY joined NYSDA on a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul regarding the slate of nominees for the NYS Court of Appeals Chief Judge vacancy. Together, they respectfully requested of Gov Hochul that she appoint one of the two candidates who best exemplify the diversity and strength of our state - either Corey L. Stoughton or Hon. Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson, stating either would “reinforce public trust and confidence in the fairness of the justice system and the administration of justice.”

Click Here For Full Letter (PDF)

In June the Court Notifications Bill (S2903A) that strengthens immigrants’ right to receive advice about consequences of criminal convictions & pleas passed. Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul undermined this with a veto. CDANY Pres Mark Funk commented here: bit.ly/3YAoi6r

CDANY Response to Albany DA David Soares
Unfounded Attack on Raise The Age Legislation

ALBANY COUNTY, NY – On Wednesday, Albany County DA David Soares bizarrely claimed the State should roll back the historic Raise the Age legislation because of a lack of investments for criminal legal system-involved youth. In response, Mark Funk, President of the Chief Defenders Association of New York released the following statement:

“CDANY refutes DA Soares’ baseless assertion that there is a correlation between the Raise the Age legislation and a recent alleged carjacking in Albany County. His fearmongering is not grounded in the data or the science. Indeed, New York was the last state in the nation to raise the age of criminal responsibility, only after the rest of the country proved that raising the age benefited youth, families, and community safety. The data is clear: treating kids like kids is most effective at preventing future recidivism and is the only humane and just approach. To now claim that Raise the Age created a "removal of penalties" that makes teens believe unlawful or violent acts have been "legalized" is a nonsensical misrepresentation of these reforms for calculated political gain. Enough. District Attorneys like Mr. Soares must stop trying to tear down these reforms. Instead, he should pitch in to help treat the root causes of violence which have nothing to do with raising the age and everything to do with increasing the investments in programs that can meaningfully impact system-involved youth. Youth need safe housing, access to quality education, job training, summer youth employment, and mentorship opportunities. It’s time to tell New Yorkers the truth: The safest communities have the most resources, not the highest jail populations.”

Click Here For PDF Statement

CDANY has sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul urging her to sign the Parental Equity Act, which has passed both houses of the legislature. The Parental Equity Act (S06389/A07347) is a straightforward fix to the unintended consequences of an antiquated statute that was written primarily to facilitate private adoptions at a time when unmarried fathers were assumed to be uninvolved in their children’s lives. It is time to modify the statute to recognize the important role that fathers play in the lives of children who enter the foster system, and to provide children and families the greatest opportunity to preserve their family bonds.

Read the full letter here. (PDF)

Announcing The 

5th Annual New York State Public Defenders Career Fair

Friday, November 4, 2022 from 1:00 – 5:00 pm EST

We are excited to welcome you to a robust virtual hiring experience using the Zoom platform.

Registration and details at

https://www.law.buffalo.edu/cso/public-defender-career-fair.html

Participation is free. Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 19, 2022.

On September 21, 2022, CDANY joined the New York State Defenders Association on a letter to the Commission on Judicial Nomination regarding the Nomination for New York State’s Chief Judge. 

See below or click here for PDF.