The Legal Aid Society decried a New York State Supreme Court decision which found that the newly enacted Prosecutorial Misconduct Commission is unconstitutional. Last year, New York had the fourth highest number of exonerations in the country – many that involved prosecutorial misconduct – yet there has been no viable way to hold prosecutors accountable who broke the law or acted in bad faith and ruined lives. LAS urged New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to appeal this decision to the Appellate Division, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Prosecutorial misconduct is a reality that our clients and our attorneys confront on a regular basis. There must be an independent body to hold prosecutors accountable when they break the law or act in bad faith,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-in-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society.