New Executive Order Lifts Suspension of 30.30 Speedy Trial; Different Timeline for NYC Felonies 
Effective Oct. 5, 2020, Executive Order 202.67 modifies previous Executive Orders since March as follows:
  • The suspension in Executive Order 202.8, as modified and extended in subsequent Executive Orders, that tolled any specific time limit for the commencement, filing, or service of any legal action, notice, motion, or other process or proceeding as prescribed by the procedural laws of the state, including but not limited to the criminal procedure law, the family court act, the civil practice law and rules, the court of claims act, the surrogate’s court procedure act, and the uniform court acts, or by any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or part thereof, is hereby continued, as modified by prior executive orders, provided however, for any civil case, such suspension is only effective until November 3, 2020, and after such date any such time limit will no longer be tolled, and provided further:
 
  • The suspension and modification of Section 30.30 of the criminal procedure law, as continued and modified in EO 202.60, is hereby no longer in effect, except for felony charges entered in the counties of New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, and Richmond, where such suspension and modification continues to be effective through October 19, 2020; thereafter for these named counties the suspension is no longer effective on such date or upon the defendant’s arraignment on an indictment, whichever is later, for indicted felony matters, otherwise for these named counties the suspension and modification of Section 30.30 of the criminal procedure law for all criminal actions proceeding on the basis of a felony complaint shall no longer be effective, irrespective, 90 days from the signing of this Executive order on January 2, 2021. 
 
A document with excerpts from Executive Orders 202.8, 202.14, 202.28, 202.38, 202.48, 202.55, 202.60, and 202.67 is available here

For all cases outside of New York City: CPL 30.30 suspension is no longer in effect. Note: be sure to review prior EOs that addressed CPL provisions, including EO 202.60 (9/4/2020), which lifted the suspension of CPL 170.70, and EO 202.48 (7/6/2020), which dealt with CPL 180.80 and 190.80.
 
For misdemeanor cases in NYC: CPL 30.30 suspension is no longer in effect. As noted above, EO 202.60 (9/4/2020) lifted the suspension of CPL 170.70.
 
For indicted felony cases in NYC: Suspension and modification of CPL 30.30 “continues to be effective through October 19, 2020”; thereafter, “the suspension is no longer effective on such date or upon the defendant’s arraignment on an indictment, whichever is later.”
 
For unindicted felony cases in NYC: Suspension and modification of CPL 30.30 in effect until Jan. 2, 2021.
 
Please contact the Backup Center if you have any questions: (518) 465-3524, [email protected], or web contact form.

Destroying Expunged Pot Records Could Backfire
An October 1st Letter to the Editor in the New York Law Journal notes with regard to expunged marijuana convictions that while “[i]t may be tempting to … demand that court records be destroyed,” there are reasons not to. The author, general counsel for the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), explains: “For example, an individual whose court records have been destroyed will have no way to prove the expungement to a background check company that continues to incorrectly report the case. More important, individuals with immigration concerns who need to prove what happened to an expunged case will not be able to do so, potentially exposing them to further problems.” The letter ends with the following recommendation: “Anyone considering records destruction under the OCA policy … should at the very least consult an attorney experienced in the civil ramifications of criminal convictions before taking this irreversible step.”

The CSS advice came on the heels of a Unified Court System press release announcing the application for seeking to destroy an expunged marijuana record. It includes the link to a fillable form with directions. The expungement is authorized pursuant to L 2019, chs 131 and 132.

Voter Registration Deadline is October 9
Lawyers, clients, and others who are eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election but have not yet registered have only a few days left in which to do so. The NY Board of Elections Voter Registration Deadlines webpage says in-person registration applications must be received no later than Oct. 9, 2020; mailed applications must be postmarked no later than October 9th and must be received no later than October 14th. Online registration is available at https://www.ny.gov/services/register-vote. Qualifications for voting are set out there, including the note that to vote, one must “Not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction (unless parolee pardoned or restored rights of citizenship).”

According to a Sept. 23, 2020, City Limits article, voting rights have been restored to over 60,000 people on parole, but “only a few thousand have registered to vote” (and over 10,000 are said to have lost that right due to parole violations). Individuals on parole who are not certain if they have received a conditional pardon can check their “voting pardon issued” status on the Department of Correction and Community Supervision Parolee Lookup webpage. Note: NYSDA has not verified whether the status reflected there is updated following a parole revocation.

Association News

Upcoming NYSDA Online Trainings

Friday, October 23, 2020, 12:00 - 2:15 pm: Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic Violence and the DVSJA: Successfully Representing Survivors
Presenters: Alan Rosenthal, Esq., Law Offices of Alan Rosenthal & Karlijn Kuijpers, PhD., Statewide Senior Research Associate, New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services
This free program is designed for attorneys engaged in new cases and resentencing cases involving domestic violence survivor-clients that may be subject to the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) with particular focus on the dynamics of domestic violence. The brochure and registration information will be available in the coming days.

Friday, November 20, 2020, Criminal and Family Defense Update 2020
This daylong program, which is typically held at the Rochester Institute of Technology each fall, is being presented virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program details are still being finalized, but the presentations will include defending against Termination of Parental Rights proceedings in light of COVID-19; Avoiding the Pile-up at the Intersection of Criminal and Family Court, a discussion of how what happens in the “other court” can affect your client; Bail and Discovery Updates; and a session on Parole Revocation practice.

For more information on these and other NYSDA trainings, please contact Megan (Meegan) O’Toole at [email protected]