Uncategorized Archives - The Office of the Appellate Defender

The Office of the Appellate Defender (OAD), ALAA Announce Recognition of Staff Union

January 25, 2021 Today, the Office of the Appellate Defender recognized the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys – UAW Local 2325 as the collective bargaining representative of its workers. OAD represents individuals experiencing poverty, who are predominantly Black and Brown and have shouldered the burden and trauma of racism, mass incarceration, over-policing, over-criminalization, and anti-Black…

Caprice R. Jenerson Selected as the President & Attorney-in-Charge for the Office of the Appellate Defender

The Board of Directors of the Office of the Appellate Defender (OAD) is proud to announce today that it has selected Caprice R. Jenerson to be OAD’s next President and Attorney-In-Charge, effective December 1, 2020. Ms. Jenerson comes to OAD after serving as the Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer and Director of the Pro Bono…

On Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade …

The Office of the Appellate Defender, Inc. stands in solidarity with the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade. We support the protestors in New York City, across the country and throughout the world. We share their outrage at the seemingly endless list of black victims of police and vigilante violence.…

OAD 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…

Indictment 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.

The Latest About OAD

In OAD’s May 2019 Newsletter, you can learn more about: OAD’s holistic post-conviction representation model; OAD’s First Monday in October Counsel for Justice Honoree, Tony West; and OAD’s available Staff Attorney positions! Check it out here.

OAD to NYC Mayor and NYS Governor: Banishment is Not Good Public Policy

On April 8, 2019, OAD joined forces with Appellate Advocates, the Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, the Center for Appellate Litigation, the Center for Community Alternatives, the Legal Aid Society, the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and the Sex Law Policy Center in a letter urging Mayor DeBlasio and Governor…

Indictment Dismissed

On April 26, 2019, in People v. Taylor, the Appellate Division dismissed the indictment of an OAD client after finding an “unreasonably long” delay in sentencing. The Court held that the prosecution “offer[ed] no excuse for more than one year of the delay in defendant’s sentencing, a period that began when the prosecution received actual…

OAD 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…

AD1 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.