Client Stories

Ms. L was bright, talented, and college-bound when she met her first boyfriend at age 15. Over the subsequent two years, this boyfriend controlled, manipulated, and abused her physically and sexually. As her boyfriend’s ultimate act of abuse, he murdered Ms. L’s parents in her presence, and forced her to assist in disposing their bodies. Ms. L was convicted of second-degree murder and received the same sentence that her boyfriend did: 30 years to life in prison. Once incarcerated, Ms. L exhibited extraordinary resilience, becoming the valedictorian of her class and graduating magna cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College. She wrote a children’s book about the healing power of remorse; taught other incarcerated women courses on art, parenting, and religion; mentored other survivors of domestic violence; and served as a beacon in the Buddhist community. SAP’s advocacy resulted in Ms. L being resentenced under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act and released from prison after 21 years.

Client Stories

On January 20, 2022, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of CAL client DH.  At trial, the contested issue was who fired a 9mm handgun, which struck  a toddler near the scene. The State initially charged Nicolas Morris with murder after several eyewitnesses identified him as the shooter, but later discontinued that case. Morris ultimately pleaded guilty to possessing a gun during the incident, but of a different caliber than the murder weapon. Years later, the prosecution proceeded to trial against DH. At that trial, over counsel's Confrontation Clause objection, the judge allowed the prosecution to introduce Morris’s guilty plea minutes establishing that he did not possess a .9mm and thus could not have caused the victim’s death. While the New York State courts agreed with the trial court’s analysis, the Supreme Court, in an 8-1 opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor, ruled that the introduction of Morris’s plea minutes violated the Confrontation Clause. The Court recognized that a person accused of a crime does not open the door to unconfronted evidence merely by asserting a third- party defense.

Client Stories

The Conditions of Confinement Project successfully assisted LG, a 59-year-old man, in securing needed medical equipment during his incarceration. Since his release earlier this year, LG has continued to benefit from CAL’s re-entry services. 

In 2015, LG had a stroke paralyzing him and rendering him completely dependent on a wheelchair. In 2021, when LG’s legal team visited him in prison, DOCCS' negligence was apparent. His wheelchair was dilapidated. Most critically, LG’s lack of mobility prevented him from getting in and out of the chair easily, requiring him to sleep in the chair.

After ongoing advocacy at the prison our client was detained in was ignored, the Conditions of Confinement Project escalated his vital medical need to DOCCS’ Health Services in Albany and then to The Office of Counsel. After years of dehumanizing medical neglect, LG finally received a brand-new wheelchair fit to his body.

Client Stories

In 2003, D.C. was sentenced to a staggering 50 (reduced by statute to 40) years in prison for crimes committed when he was just 21 years old.  After CAL advocated for resentencing setting forth mitigation never presented at the original sentencing, Manhattan Supreme Court found the sentence illegal and resentenced him to 20 years, allowing for his immediate release and reunion with his family.

Client Stories

Eight years earlier, when SB was 18 years old, she was involved in shoplifting clothing and was convicted of fourth-degree possession of stolen property.  Now a hard-working mother, that felony conviction prevented her from getting the employment that she wanted.  Utilizing the new provision under Criminal Procedure Law § 720.20(5) (eff. Nov. 2, 2021), which offers a second chance to certain individuals to receive youthful offender adjudications, CAL applied for and won a vacatur of SB’s conviction, freeing her from the onus of a criminal record.  SB is thought to be the first person in the state to have successfully utilized that provision.

Client Stories

Ms. F was a 20-year-old single mother and the survivor of sexual abuse when she began dating a man 30 years her senior. What began as a seemingly loving relationship quickly devolved into this man forcing Ms. F to engage in commercial sex. He introduced her to drugs that would lead to a decades-long substance abuse disorder. As a result of this experience of human trafficking, Ms. F incurred 27 criminal convictions in Manhattan and the Bronx for a range of offenses from prostitution to robbery. Since escaping her exploiter, Ms. F has achieved sobriety and become an example of service and leadership in her community. Thanks to SAP’s advocacy, the Court agreed to vacate, dismiss, and seal all 27 of her criminal convictions under the START Act and a prior version of CPL § 440.10(1)(i).

Client Stories

After being acquitted of the top charges against him at trial, L.S. was wrongly summoned for a Sex Offender Registration Act (“SORA”) risk level determination hearing in New York County.  The prosecution aggressively sought to have L.S. adjudicated the highest risk level, Level 3, which would carry lifetime registration and quarterly in-person appearances at the Sex Offender Monitoring Unit’s Office.  L.S.’s attorney at CAL investigated the circumstances of his misdemeanor conviction and successfully moved to dismiss the SORA hearing entirely, obtaining an order confirming that L.S. was not required at all to register as a “sex offender.”

Client Stories

Now an upstanding and deeply rooted member of his community in New York City, Mr. C arrived in NY more than thirty years ago when he was 11 years old. Although all of his immediate family are US citizens or lawful permanent residents, Mr. C was unable to obtain lawful immigration status and was at risk of deportation, because of two low-level summons convictions for unlawful possession of marijuana from the 1990s. IJP uncovered evidence that Mr. C had been deprived of his right to counsel in these cases and successfully moved to vacate his convictions. Mr. C may now become a lawful permanent resident and, eventually, a US citizen.

Client Stories

In the early 1990s, J.D. was convicted of two sex offenses in Bronx County.  After serving nearly 30 years in prison, he was finally granted parole.  Before he could return to the community, he was required to register as a “sex offender” and receive a risk level.  At his risk level hearing, J.D.’s attorney at CAL convinced the prosecution and the court that risk factor points under Factor 7, which were recommended by the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders, were not warranted.  As a result of this successful challenge, J.D. was adjudicated a Level 2 registrant and able to take advantage of his parole grant without being subject to draconian residency restrictions that would have otherwise extended his decades-long incarceration indefinitely.