![]() “They’re more likely to have money bail set on them pretrial, more likely to receive higher plea offers that result in incarceration, more likely to be charged with drug possession or some of these low-level offenses.” “As a public defender, I have seen the way that my clients who are predominantly Black and brown people are treated by the criminal legal system,” she said. But Orlins notes that she is the only candidate with a background as a public defender, so she has spent her “entire career going up against the Manhattan DA’s office.” ![]() The crowded field includes other candidates who have never worked as prosecutors, namely civil rights attorney Tahanie Aboushi and Assemblymember Dan Quart. Orlins is making the case that voters need to elect someone who has never been part of what she called the “prosecutorial-industrial complex” to overhaul this system. “This is the system working as designed,” Eliza Orlins, a career public defender who is running for DA in Manhattan, told The Appeal: Political Report about Franco in a Q&A. And when the actions of line prosecutors come under scrutiny, their bosses tend to fight oversight or isolate the allegations. The weight of an officer’s testimony can pressure defendants into taking a prosecutor’s deal rather than challenging the officer at trial. Most of his cases that are being vacated ended in guilty pleas. Franco’s own history shows what prosecutors have to gain from this. The Brooklyn DA had made a similar move a week earlier.īut these rare announcements-targeting one police officer who left behind such an explosive trail-cannot conceal the serial pattern of New York DAs depending on officers they already know to be unreliable in order to keep locking people away, as The Appeal and other outlets have long documented. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said on Thursday that he would seek to vacate 100 convictions that were obtained via the work of NYPD officer Joseph Franco, who is indicted for perjury and falsifying testimony. After a decade as a public defender, representing thousands of New Yorkers, she realized that if we want to change the system, we have to change the DA.Eliza Orlins, who is running in the June 22 primary, lays out how she would overhaul the “prosecutorial-industrial complex.” Eliza is running for Manhattan District Attorney to reform a cruel and unjust criminal legal system. It's a timely reminder of why this race is so crucial for New York. Eliza penned an op-ed that was published recently in the Washington Post. To access the zoom link, please go here and contribute any amount, even $1.įor the uninitiated, h ere's a link to the campaign launch video and website. ![]() We will also leave time for questions and discussion. On Monday, Eliza, Geoff, and I will be having a conversation about the role of a progressive prosecutor in bringing about meaningful criminal justice reform. And so we are delighted to be hosting a Zoom event for her next Monday, July 6 at 8pm EST. If you’re getting this email it’s because you’re either a Manhattan voter, know Manhattan voters or care deeply about criminal justice reform in NYC and beyond. Because of this, my husband Geoff is working for her campaign on her policy team, and we're both doing all we can to get her message out. Not only is she a good friend, she is also the best candidate to be the progressive prosecutor that Manhattan needs. As some of you may know, Eliza Orlins, my dear friend and former officemate at The Legal Aid Society, is running to be the next District Attorney of Manhattan. ![]()
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