The Capital Defender Office was established in 1995 with the enactment of legislation (L. 1995, Ch.1) returning capital punishment to the state's criminal statutes. On June 24, 2004, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled (People v. LaValle) that part of this legislation was unconstitutional and that until such time as the State Legislature revised the law, the state should not seek the death penalty. On October 23, 2007, the Court of Appeals ruled (People v. Taylor) that the state's last capital prisoner should be resentenced to life imprisonment. The State Legislature did not revise the death penalty statute, and as a result there were no additional death penalty cases in the State of New York. The Rochester branch office of the Capital Defender Office was closed on October 31, 2005 and the Albany and New York City branch offices were closed on June 13, 2008.
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The Capital Defender Office, which operated from 1995 to 2007, was responsible for ensuring that defendants who could not afford adequate legal representation in capital cases received effective assistance of counsel. It directly represented capital defendants; identified private attorneys who were willing to represent capital defendants and met the office's standards for doing so; entered into agreements with legal aid societies and other defender organizations regarding acceptance of appointments in capital cases and monitoring their performance; provided private attorneys with continuing legal advice and other assistance; provided or arranged for representation in capital cases before permanent counsel was appointed; and furnished training and continuing legal education about death penalty practice and law.
L. 1995, Ch. 1.
