New York State's Corruption Risk Report Card: It Aint Good

NYS Overall grade:

D

Click a category to see detailed scores and notes.

Public Access to Information D+ view	Political Financing D- view
Executive Accountability D view	Legislative Accountability D+ view
Judicial Accountability D view	State Budget Processes F view
State Civil Service Management D- view	Procurement D view
Internal Auditing B+ view	Lobbying Disclosure B- view
State Pension Fund Management F view	Ethics Enforcement Agencies F view
State Insurance Commissions D- view	Redistricting F view

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The story behind the score

New York’s newly created ethics commission has its work cut out for it in a state government that’s often defined by dysfunction and corruption. Read more from SII State Reporter David King.

Latest state news for New York

Campaign finance laws missing teeth and transparency

JUN 26, 2012

By Mike Mullen

Gov. Scott Walker survived his recall election. The same cannot be said for the integrity of campaign finance laws in Wisconsin.

Incumbents targeted for recall are freed from Wisconsin's normal fundraising limits, and can collect unlimited contributions from individual donors. With the election between Walker and his Democratic opponent, former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, seen as a battleground for national partisan politics, money poured in on both sides. But Walker exploited the seemingly infinite loophole to tremendous advantage: By election day, Walker's campaign had received more than $30 million in donations, a total that approached the $37.5 million spent by both sides during the 2010 election,according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Wisconsin received a grade of 'C-' from the State Integrity Investigation for its political financing laws and practices, with reporter Kate Golden finding proper measures on limits, enforcement, and transparency, while also documenting numerous exemptions and back-channels, including the recall election loophole. But in other states, the potentially polluting influence of unlimited, and sometimes unsupervised campaign financing is constant and permanent, borne out of state laws and practices -- or their absence.

Read more →

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New group joins push for campaign finance reform in New York

JUN 25, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

Frustrated with Albany’s tepid reaction to the idea of publicly financed elections, the Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his fiancé are financing a new campaign to press the issue in coordination with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The group has also enlisted two former Cuomo aides to help plot its strategy. The campaign, Protect Our Democracy, will include a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group and a political action committee.

Read the rest of of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

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Editorial: Close loopholes and open public pensions to the public

JUN 11, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

The law allows the disclosure of the names and pensions of retired public workers. But it exempts disclosure of the name of a “beneficiary” — which has long been interpreted to mean a person receiving the benefits after a retiree dies.

A state court ruling last year, however, found that a retiree could also be “beneficiary” and, therefore, could be shielded from disclosure. It is now up to the State Legislature to undo this ridiculous ruling and clarify an important law.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

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Editorial: Pro-Cuomo organization should disclose its donors

JUN 06, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

Cuomo administration officials argue that the governor pushed hard for ethics reform last year that, among other things, would require 501(c)(4) groups to disclose their donors.

Mr. Cuomo does not need to wait for that to happen. He can demonstrate his commitment to reform by pushing his friends at the committee to disclose all of its donors right now.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

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New York launches new open government website

JUN 01, 2012

State integrtiy news for New York, from the Daily Gazette:

The government transparency website Project Sunlight has been expanded by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to include the user friendly New York Open Government feature. Project Sunlight, which contains a collection of information compiled by the Attorney General's Office, will now help voters and government watchdogs hold state government accountable by offering up-to-date campaign contribution, lobbying and state contract data.

“Secrecy breeds corruption, while transparency generates confidence,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “New York Open Government will help the public keep an eye on what their government is doing in order to deter corruption and increase confidence in the public sector..

 

Is Your Lawyer Making You a Participant or a Spectator in Your Case?

This is a Poster from a Local Medical Center

As the poster above illustrates, we are living in a day and age where people must ensure that their health providers (and legal providers) are doing what needs to be done.

The Medical "Speak Up" campaign highlights:

1. Ask Questions (know what's going on)
2. Pay Attention (be focused on what the doctors are doing, giving, and saying)
3. Educate Yourself (concerning diagnosis (what's wrong), tests, and your treatment)
4. Ask others You Trust to Speak Up for YOU
5. Know what your taking and why you are taking them
6. PARTICIPATE 

What is Representation?     A Representation = A Relationship

Years ago we lived in an age where people brought their problems to a professional (doctor, lawyer, CPA, financial advisor, etc.) and just let them handle it. "It" being their legal, financial, or health problem or situation. This person would just tell you what to do, where to go, what to say, and what to sign. There was little to no discussion or communication. The doctor said take this, the lawyer said do that, and so it went on and on. The basis of most of these relationships (representations) was authority to underling. This unbalanced relationship pitted the wise knower to unwise ignorant (lack of knowledge, not stupidity).

MY Holistic View or Viewpoint

I tell my clients as I told my patients (when I practiced Chiropractic) that you are not a mushroom who should sit in the dark, YOU are going to be involved in your case (and in your care) so that YOU are empowered, understand your options, and make choices (decisions) with intelligence. 

Being The Participant vs. Being the Spectator

These days we live in the age of information, the age of knowledge. It is abundant, it is accessible, and it is free. In my opinion, it is there (the internet, the library) so that people should no longer live in the proverbial darkness. We can look up people, diseases, crimes, processes, procedures, methods, philosophies, etc. It is wonderful to get answers to our questions, and even better I believe to have better questions to ask.

The dangers with too much information I see are twofold:

(1) lack of proper context (placement and perspective) for the information you gather,
(2) misinformation (too many sites, blogs, and articles written without credentials or experience)

A good advisor (navigator) will lay out the field (show you where the land mines (pitfalls) are) and help you make the best decisions about everything.

Remember that the basis of any accepted Court Plea (decision) must be threefold:

1. Voluntary (not forced or coerced)
2. Intelligent (understanding the options and it's relation to YOU specifically)
3. Knowing (the 360 degree perspective, the past, the present, and the future)

I say, You Should Speak Up to all Your Providers, of any professional service, especially legal ones.


Larry Newman, D.C., J.D.
"counsel for flowers not mushrooms"

Doctor of Chiropractic
Attorney at Law (Juris Doctor)

504 North Aurora Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

607-229-5184
newman.lawrence@gmail.com

http://www.ithacadwi.com

MY Coup D'etat: How I got Certified on the Draeger Alcotest Breath Testing Instrument

Lake Cayuga sits at the Base of Ithaca, NY

I live within Blocks of this? Amazing!

This is NOT New Jersey!

Life has a great many twists and turns. I practiced law in New Jersey (and Pennsylvania) long before I practiced in New York. I lived in N.J., worked in the NJ prosecutor's office, married a girl from NJ, and enjoyed my time there BUT I'm a New Yorker at heart. I was born and raised in the streets of Brooklyn. You can take me from those streets but they are within me everyday.

Funny how I used to make fun of people who lived in the sticks (as my dad used to quip) but I love upstate New York, and in my more mature years (chronologically not mentally or emotionally) I have grown to enjoy the wide expanses of trees, hills, and farmland.

How did I get to the New Jersey Draeger Alcotest Certification?

1. I belong to the NCDD (National College of DUI Defense) and participate in their listserve with thousands of lawyers around the country who focus their practices on DUI/DWI/OUI defense.

2. I look for seminars, conferences, and programs that can improve my ability to defend DWI cases. I have been to many courses that teach breath testing, blood testing, and police field sobriety training.

3. My Coup D'etat!

I found out that the New Jersey Supreme Court has mandated that the Draeger company (which manufactures the Alcotest 7710 and 9510) has to provide assess to the defense bar (criminal defense lawyers) once per year the same test training and certification as it provides to the New Jersey law enforcement breath test instructors (called the coordinators). This is since 2006, so I am one of about 115 (120 took the course since 2006 but some are repeaters) certified by Draeger on the Alcotest.

The course I took was limited to 20 participants. Many of them were experts who testify in Courts on the Draeger instrument, breath testing, and blood testing. There were some Phd. pharmacologists from Ohio, a few expert certified State Troopers, and a bunch of us defense lawyers. I was the only DWI defense lawyer from New York State.

I was trained and certified on the Draeger Alcotest (the only unit used in New Jersey) in the software, the analytical system, components and peripherals, as well as how to operate the instrument and perform a specific breath test sequence.

Me and the VP of Draeger, Hansueli Ryser

A lot harder to blow into than I imagined


All pictures taken with my new SONY Cybershot DSC- RX100
Absolutely a fabulous camera (recommended by David Pogue, New York Times tech genius)

Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Newman
Doctor of Chiropractic
Attorney and Counselor at Law

504 North Aurora Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

607-229-5184
newman.lawrence@gmail.cm

http://www.ithacadwi.com

New York State Police Use the Draeger Alcotest for DWI Arrests: Potential Defense Issues

2012 Certification on the Draeger

DOWNSTATE DWI TESTING

New York State uses a variety of breath alcohol testing devices to prove DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) crimes. In the Boroughs, and downstate (Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island) they utilize the Intoxilyzer 8000.

UPSTATE DWI TESTING

Law enforcement in Upstate New York Towns, Villages, and Cities use the Datamaster DMT. The state police love the Draeger Alcotest, which comes in two models the 7110 and 9510. By far the Draeger is the state of the art unit. It has dual sensor technology (two forms of testing) consisting of an electrochemical (fuel cell) system and an Infrared System.

What's in a name?Is it an Instrument, a Device, or a Machine?

The police, the prosecutors, and the manufacturers love to call them "instruments" but many of us in the defense community just loosely refer to them as "machines." At the certification class I just attended the instrument creator, and vice president of Draeger, Hansueli Ryser (I kept thinking Hans Solo from Star Wars) got upset that I referred to it as a machine, he said "Larry it's an instrument not a machine." I can understand the sensitivity, afterall I would not want my instrument which measures blood alcohol concentration to an accurate degree referred to as a mere machine just as the late Steve Jobs would not want his iphone referred to as a phone. 

Evidential Breath Testing BUT does it Equal "Valid" and "Accurate" Evidence 

They are technically and more importantly legally recognized as evidential breath alcohol testing units. The evidential means that they have been approved, certified, and most importantly recognized to yield results that can be used in Court as "evidence" and as "proof" of the BAC (blood alcohol concentration) at the time (or there abouts) of testing.

This proof can be used against you to prove you were Driving While Intoxicated or Driving While Impaired in New York State. The list of approved devices is huge. These are just the best of the lot and the ones used in New York State. 

The Issues with Breath Testing

As great as these units are they have their limitations and issues. Just like any computer or microprocessor based system, garbage in yields garbage out. 

1. Must have a Good Sample of Breath.

One of the most important aspects of breath testing is gathering a sufficient, clean, and accurate sample of breath. There is a mandatory period of uninterrupted and continuous observation of the person before blowing into the unit. This is a big point of contention (defense) in many states with breath testing. Police observation in the back of police car (cruiser) prior to testing does not count. Leaving the subject in the room unattended does not count. Turning around to do paperwork does not count. 

Uninterrupted means uninterrupted.

Continuous means continuous.

In New York State it is a 20 minute period of time for this observation and not one minute less.

2. Biological Variables Person to Person

The units are set for the average person with an average basal (body) temperature with an average breath. Even the best of units will have a range of error just based upon this. They say the average person is Chinese, a female, and dead so averages can be deceiving and wrong.

3. The BIG Assumption

The biggest assumption with evidential breath testing is that the subject is done metabolizing alcohol. In other words you (and your body) are beyond the absorption phase. Your body has completely absorbed all the alcohol consumed and NOW you are completely in the elimination phase of alcohol. Why is this fact so important? Because prior to complete elimination your body will have varying concentrations of alcohol between the breath, the blood, the lungs, and cardiovascular system.

All of this is based upon Henry's Law which basically states that in a closed system of liquid and gas eventually the concentration of the molecules of a substance in the liquid will be equal to the concentration of the molecules of the substance in the gas above it. In the realms of breath alcohol testing we have BREATH (the gas) and BLOOD (the liquid).

From thescubastop.com

For illustration, #1 is one to one ratio (balanced), then #2 we have increased alcohol concentration in the lung (breath) tissues during the alcohol absorption phase, then #3 balanced alcohol in lung (breath) and blood in elimination (expiration) phase.

So in the absorption phase (#2) we have an unequal concentration of alcohol in gas (breath) and alcohol in blood (blood alcohol concentration). In fact in the absorption phase (#2) we have a higher BAC in the breath (cardiovascular/lungs/heart) area of the body and a lower BAC in the blood system.

So no matter how good a machine/instrument/unit/device we have these areas of contention. The human variables are always present without even getting into the problems with an accurate measurement.

Dr. Lawrence Newman

Doctor of Chiropractic

Attorney and Counselor at Law

504 North Aurora Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

http://www.ithacadwi.com

  

NY County Judicial Candidates' Voter Guide: You Have No Choice

NEW YORK COUNTY We have been advised of the following judicial candidates for election in your county. Candidates whose names are underlined have opted to participate in this voter guide. Click on underlined names to see biographical information provided by participating candidates. LINK Supreme Court 1st Judicial District Vote for 4: Shlomo Hagler Manuel J. Mendez Saliann Scarpulla George Silver New York City  Surrogate's Court Vote for 1: Rita Mella New York City  Civil Court (New York County) Vote for 3: Melissa A. Crane Verna Saunders Anil C. Singh New York City  Civil Court (2nd District)Vote for 1: Debra Rose Samuels New York City  Civil Court (3rd District) Vote for 1: Lisa A. Sokoloff New York City  Civil Court (6th District) Vote for 2: Arthur F. Engoron Shawn T. Kelly New York City  Civil Court (8th District) Vote for 1: Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick

Please note: Candidates are solely responsible for the content and accuracy of their information. Candidates whose names are not underlined have opted not to participate in this voter guide. Applicable voting rules will determine which registered voters in your county may be eligible to vote for candidates to courts of limited jurisdiction (e.g., City Courts, District Courts, or New York City Civil Courts). From Betsy Combier: Also make note that NYSUT Attorney Shawn Kelly is now a judge!!! Kelley has been responsible for falling in line behind Mayor Bloomberg in destroying the careers of excellent, caring teachers. When Chris Asch went to him to ask for his help in responding to the Appeal of the New York Law Department (they want to overturn the thorough and fair decision of Judge Manuel Mendez to vacate Arbitrator David Hyland's penalty of Chris' 6 month's suspension) he told Chris that Mendez's decision was terrible, and fellow NYSUT Attorney Aileen Naughton did an awful job at the 3020-a, but as Adam Ross, Claude Hersh, and Mike Mulgrew asked him to do the Response papers, he would do it. I suggested that Chris ask NYSUT to help him, and felt very sorry for doing that when Chris called me immediately after he left Shawn's office. Chris hired Fred Aaron and me to help him instead.  Just watch for bias and prejudice if you are a teacher and you end up before Judge Shawn Kelley.

Representing the Accused: A Practical Guide to Criminal Defense

Readers of this blog know that Jill Paperno, the Second Assistant Monroe County Public Defender, is a frequent contributor. Jill’s posts typically provide practical advice to defense attorneys on how to defend a particular type of case (see or see or see)  or  how to deal with a trial or evidentiary issue (see  or see). Jill has recently authored a book, Representing the Accused: A Practical Guide to Criminal Defense (Thomson Reuters Westlaw), which is aimed at providing meaningful guidance to criminal defense attorneys as to how to handle each stage in a criminal case from arrest to final disposition.  It is available as both a book and an e-book at Amazon (see) and directly from the publisher (see).

The book is full of practical advice on topics such as holding the first interview with a client, maintaining files, conducting investigations, and preparing for hearings, trials, negotiations, and pleas. This book, based on Jill’s experience in thousands of cases, provides useful answers to the questions attorneys, particularly inexperienced attorneys, often face, of what needs to be done next and how should it be done. For a dtailed review in the New York State Defender Association's Report, see.


Following the book’s advice will help attorneys provide high quality representation to their clients.

Criminal Law Slanguage of New York, 5th edition

A new edition of a dictionary of New York legal expressions was just released:  Criminal Law Slanguage of New York, 5th edition. Glenn Murray and Gary Muldoon are the coauthors. The book has definitions for federal and state-specific terms, such as Miranda warnings, hate crime, falsus in uno falsus in omnibus, opening the door, choice of evils defense, voice stress analysis, Adam Walsh Act, cryptanalysis, best evidence rule: about 1,500 entries, in all. 

It is available from Barnes and Nobles (see) and Amazon (see) or directly from the publisher:
Bridge Publishing Group, LLC, 39 Concetta Court, Getzville, NY 14068
800.758.3010    
mail @bridgepg.com
http://www.bridgepg.com


Gary Muldoon is also the author of  the excellent Handling a Criminal Case in New York, 2012-2013 edition (see).