"State Bar Explores Ways to Curb Wrongful Convictions" is an article today in the subscription only New York Law Journal.
It's not directly habeas-related, but close enough. Plenty of federal judges over the years have concluded on habeas review that there had been a "wrongful conviction" (for example, see my post on Judge Chin and also my discussion of the movie Hurricane).
Here's the lede paragraph of today's article:
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance said yesterday he intends to use a New York State Bar Association report on wrongful convictions and the work of other outside groups to help develop an office in which the chances are minimized that innocent defendants will be arrested, prosecuted and convicted.
To note, the article states that mistaken identifications were found to be the leading cause of wrongful convictions.
And I love this stuff from former US Atty Zachary Carter:
Mr. Carter in part faulted the culture within the prosecutors' offices for breeding what he said is a rush to judgment by prosecutors against some defendants, even if facts point to their innocence.
The rest of the article is worth reading, if you have the access. Let's hope that DA Vance is sincere about these promises.
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