Supporters urge Cuomo to sign indigent legal services bill
Some 40 years ago when he was a young South End pastor, former Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard found himself in court often, going to bat for those from one of Albany’s predominantly minority neighborhoods who couldn’t afford legal representation.
“(I) witnessed firsthand inadequate defense that over-worked public defenders were able to afford those who could not afford to pay for an attorney,” he said Tuesday. “Unfortunately, not much has changed over four decades. In fact, things have become more unfair.”
Hubbard, as a representative of the state’s Catholic churches, is among a broad coalition of groups with members of all political stripes who are pleading with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation not yet on his desk that would phase-in a state takeover of funding for indigent legal services. The legislation would require the state to fully fund those services by 2023, relieving a financial burden on counties that last year totaled roughly $390 million and is conservatively estimated at $500 million when additional funding to adequately staff public defenders offices is factored in.
Bill supporters, including Hubbard, who gathered in Albany on Tuesday to advocate for Cuomo’s signature said they did not have an inkling as to why the bill has yet to be handed up. However, the Senate technically has until the end of the month to coordinate with Cuomo’s office, as is legislative practice, when the bill should hit his desk for formal consideration.
Read more: http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/269921/supporters-urge-cuomo-to-sign-indigent-legal-services-bill/