NON-CITIZENS SHOULD GET FREE LAWYERS

Warning that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers could face deportation due to inadequate legal counsel, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Thursday called on New York City to reform its criminal defense contracts to comply with a watershed U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Padilla v. Kentucky) that requires defense attorneys to tell indigent clients about the immigration consequences of criminal proceedings.

"There are nearly 1.6 million people in New York who at any moment could be at risk of deportation for even the most minor of criminal dispositions," Stringer said. "This is a tragedy in the making that could be avoided if public defenders have sufficient funding and guidance to comply with the Padilla ruling and give proper advice to their clients.

"I call on the Office of the Criminal Justice Coordinator to ensure strong contract provisions for organizations that provide criminal defense services, to fulfill Padilla's constitutional requirements. I'm also asking that city funding be provided to help meet this crucial objective." 

It is essential that the City act soon, Stringer added, because new contracts for all seven of the organizations that provide criminal defense services for New York are set to take effect on January 1, 2011. "The City has a limited window of time in which to make such changes," the Borough President said.

The Borough President's comments were made during testimony before the Mayor's Office of Contract Services and Office of Criminal Justice Coordinator, which reviewed a proposed contract for the provision of indigent criminal representation in Community Districts 9, 10, 11 and 12 in Manhattan.

The proposed contractor, Neighborhood Defense Service of Harlem, provides community-based public defense services for upper Manhattan. The City also contracts with six additional organizations in the five counties for indigent trial defense representation. The total funding for those seven contracts totals approximately $26 million for fiscal year 2010. "Our criminal defense organizations such as Neighborhood Defense Service have provided strong representation for vulnerable populations but are in need of additional resources to enforce the rights of their clients," Stringer said.

"We live in a city that is 40% foreign born, where a significant number of non citizens encounter the criminal justice system and may face risk of deportation for the most minor criminal dispositions," the Borough President continued. "Nearly 20%, or 1.6 million of this population could be at imminent risk of deportation any time they are arrested."

"Every day, longtime immigrant residents who have contributed to our city are at risk of being separated from their families, subjected to inhumane detention conditions and sent to countries where they may be at risk of persecution," Stringer said.

In his testimony, the Borough President urged the City to require each defender organization that contracts with the city to have a written immigration plan to outline how it will fulfill the Padilla requirements. He also called on the City to provide an appropriate amount of additional funding needed to ensure that the plans can be effectively implemented.

"Although we are currently in difficult budget times, the City should identify the resources needed for this critical constitutionally mandated requirement that we must meet long into the future," Stringer said.