News
OAD mourns the loss of an unwavering champion
The Office of the Appellate Defender (OAD) is saddened to learn of the passing of Roy Reardon. Roy was a founding member of the Board of Directors and served for 31 years. In the early years, Roy used his considerable stature in the New York legal community to help OAD develop and build relationships with the bench…
Read MoreOAD Alumni Eunice C. Lee Confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
On Saturday, August 7, 2021, the United States Senate voted to confirm Eunice Lee for a judgeship on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Eunice was an exemplary staff and supervising attorney at the Office of the Appellate Defender for over two decades, and we are so incredibly proud of her as she takes this next step to ensure equal justice under law.
Read MoreOAD is Open for Business
Like you, everyone at OAD is deeply concerned about and closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus/COVID-19. Although we have closed our physical office for the safety of our staff and our clients, we continue to do the important work of representing and advocating for people convicted of felonies every day. We are answering all…
Read MoreIndictment Dismissed
Today, in People v. Coulibaly, the First Department vacated OAD’s client’s conviction and dismissed his indictment after finding that trial counsel incorrectly calculated his client’s speedy trial time. Kudos to our Volunteer Appellate Defender co-counsel at MilbankLLP! You can read the decision here.
Read MoreOAD Joins NYC Defenders in Urging Accuracy and Transparency in DNA Testing and Analysis
On February 15, 2019, OAD joined with New York City indigent and post-conviction defense providers to urge the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to conduct a transparent and collaborative review to determine whether and to what extent a controversial method for evaluating DNA mixtures has been used in New York City criminal cases. You…
Read MoreAD1 Reverses OAD Client’s Conviction: Cumulative Errors Deprived Right to a Fair Trial
In People v. Ortiz, the First Department reversed Mr. Ortiz’s conviction because numerous errors—including the improper admission of testimony about cell-site data by an unqualified lay witness—deprived Mr. Ortiz of his right to a fair trial. The decision is available here: http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2019/2019_00221.htm Mr. Ortiz was represented by OAD Staff Attorney, Victorien Wu.
Read MoreOAD’s 2019 Preservation Training for Trial Lawyers
On February 4, 2019, OAD Supervising Attorneys, Eunice Lee and Joe Nursey, will lead a discussion about how trial lawyers can and should preserve errors to maximize full and complete appellate review. This training will be held at: New York University Law School Room 210, Vanderbilt Hall 40 Washington Square South New York, N.Y. 6-8pm…
Read MoreOAD Alumni Directory
In honor of OAD’s 30th anniversary, we are proud to present this first-ever OAD Alumni Directory. We have listed our former staff members’ names, current place of business, and position while at OAD. As this Directory powerfully demonstrates, OAD-trained attorneys have become state and federal public defenders, scholars, policy-makers, jurists and private practitioners. OAD’s alumni…
Read MoreOAD@30
In honor of OAD’s 30th anniversary, we are sharing 30 ways that OAD makes a difference. From our courtroom success, reinvestigation project, esteemed alumni, client advocacy programs, and social services–follow along on Twitter and Facebook, or click here to see all of the ways revealed thus far! #WeRepresent #OAD@30
Read MoreOAD Appellate Update (October 23 to November 5, 2018)
Appellate Update (October 23, 2018 to November 5, 2018) Court of Appeals People v. Jakim Grimes (Oct. 23, 2018) Opinion by Judge Di Fiore with Judges Stein, Fahey, Garcia and Feinman concurring; Judge Wilson dissents in an opinion joined by Judge Rivera The Court of Appeals previously held in People v Andrews (2014) that an…
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