Cuomo Signs Bill to Create Prosecutorial Misconduct Panel

A new piece of legislation signed into law last week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo concerning prosecutorial misconduct has district attorney offices and the exonerated community split over the effectiveness of the first-in-the-nation proposal.

Cuomo signed the law, which would establish a panel to probe accusations of wrongdoing by district attorney offices, after legislative sponsors of it agreed to pass an amendment next year to address legal issues with the measure.

The State Commission of Prosecutorial Conduct will review and investigate conduct by DA’s offices to address allegations of misdeeds that could lead to malicious prosecutions and wrongful convictions.

Cuomo said the panel would root out any potential abuses of power by prosecutors.

“Our criminal justice system must fairly convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent,” Cuomo said. “When any prosecutor consciously disregards that fundamental duty, communities suffer and lose faith in the system, and they must have a forum to be heard and seek justice. This first-in-the-nation Commission will serve to give New Yorkers comfort that there is a system of checks and balances in the criminal justice system.”

Jeffrey Deskovic, who was exonerated after spending 16 years in jail for a rape and murder he did not commit in Peekskill, advocated, along with other organizations, tirelessly for the bill to pass through the senate and assembly. Also fighting for bill’s passage was Anthony DiPippo, who was convicted twice of rape and murder in Putnam, but was freed after he was found not guilty at his third trial.

Deskovic, who is in his third year of law school, said it took six years to finally get the bill approved and signed by Cuomo. He met with multiple lawmakers, held rallies and press conferences, and did countless media interviews.

“It’s gratifying to see it got passed,” Deskovic said.

He’s hopeful the legislation will do a lot to prevent prosecutorial misconduct and can act as a deterrent. Those people that believe they have faced wrongdoing from prosecutors now have more power to submit a complaint, he added.

The current grievance committee set up is “totally ineffective,” Deskovic said. Because of the number of misconduct examples from DA’s offices in the state, it’s clear the grievance committee wasn’t working.

“This is a watershed moment,” Deskovic said of the new panel. “I hope other states follow suit.”

But district attorney offices don’t agree and vow to fight the law in court.

“Sadly, today the Governor, who previously served as the Attorney General of the State, after requesting and receiving an opinion from the current Attorney General that stated that the legislation is flagrantly unconstitutional, chose to ignore all of these concerns and signed the bill into law,” wrote DAASNY President Albany County District Attorney David Soares.

Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy said the panel is unnecessary, a waste of money, and most likely unconstitutional. Tendy stated the state already has grievance committees empowered to do exactly what the new legislation has put forward. The cost for the panel in the first year would be more than $5 million.

“Only in New York—where corruption seemingly annually oozes out of the governor’s office, the senate, the assembly, and most recently the Attorney General’s office—would our elected representatives create a committee to do the exact same work as another existing committee,” Tendy stated in an email.

Two local state assembly members differed on the legislation.

Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, a Republican who voted against the proposal, called the new commission “more costly government bureaucracy into our criminal justice system.”

After speaking with the Putnam and Westchester DA’s offices, law enforcement officials, civil rights activists, and local defense attorneys, Byrne said the approach would increase the number of false complaints from convicted criminals against their prosecutors. He argued it would also hinder law enforcement’s ability to do its job effectively.

“This seems to be part of a broader initiative that seeks to blame law enforcement and not criminals for their actions,” Byrne said in statement.

Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, a Democrat who supported the bill, said there would need to be amendments to legislation. While there are levels of oversight already established like the bar association, Galef said she wants to ensure district attorneys are conducting themselves properly.

“I want to be sure there is fair justice,” Galef said. “Making sure innocent people don’t go to jail.”