Chester Soria

www.jjie.org — In the United States, false confessions play a role in about one in four wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence. The confessions often come forth following hours of interrogation, resulting in a statement of guilt put on paper in front of the investigating detectives or, as in Santana's case, on videotape. Although technically a person cannot be convicted on a confession alone, it often plays a crucial role in a trial. "Confession evidence is heavily relied upon by juries because it’s counterintuitive that one would confess to something that they didn't do," said Stephen Saloom, policy director at the Innocence Project, the New York-based nonprofit legal clinic that has tracked more than 310 DNA exonerations nationwide.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - On a recent Sunday in April, state Sen. Gustavo Rivera and Democratic mayoral nominee Christine Quinn were standing in front of a Bronx bodega when they were approached by a father and his 10-year-old son. The father, Javier Perez, knew the senator from his work in the neighborhood - and his son had even gone up to Albany to rally against school budget cuts. But Perez didn't know who Quinn was until Rivera told him. "I want to introduce you to the next mayor," Rivera said to Perez in Spanish as the father then shook hands with Quinn, who was surrounded by her supporters carrying signs.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - A nonprofit created by a Republican candidate for mayor is one of dozens of groups slated to get a cut of pork - hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars - from the City Council for 2014. The Doe Fund, founded by mayoral hopeful George McDonald, will receive $545,000 from over half a dozen Council members for programs aimed at helping people who are unemployed or homeless to ease back into the workforce. Although it is not the first time the organization has received funding from Council members, data released late last week shows the Doe Fund was among the top recipients of this year's budgeted pork barrel spending.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - Anthony Weiner may consider himself the underdog in this year's mayoral race. But his strong poll numbers from the outset of his late entry belie that idea. Despite the sexting scandal that led him to resign from Congress two years ago, Weiner remains a credible Democratic mayoral candidate. The self-styled policy wonk has said his focus on ideas for making life better for the middle class will take him all the way to Gracie Mansion.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - Eliot Spitzer has said that if he is elected comptroller he will use the powers of the office aggressively, bringing the same brand of prosecutorial zeal to the job that made him feared on Wall Street. The comptroller's office, he has said in interview after interview, does more than just count how many paper clips were bought and delivered. The office has untapped political power to shape urban policy. New York City voters have heard similar sentiments in the past.

jjie.org — NEW YORK--The New York Police Department is willingly unfurling its own interrogation recording program, albeit slowly. And yet for some observers, it isn't enough. Across the country, lawmakers are making an effort not only to convince authorities to adopt the best practice but to push legislation that creates accountability and oversight of said programs. New York state has been waging that fight for years now, leaving some local leaders looking for more immediate recourse on a municipal level.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - Christine Quinn could make history as the first woman and openly gay mayor of New York City. The self-described aggressive City Council speaker has long been a front-runner to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Even so, she will need to overcome powerful headwinds to get Democratic voters to turn out for her in the September primary.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - Even after losing out on millions in public funding for his mayoral campaign, Democratic candidate John Liu is refusing to back out of the race for City Hall. "For the last couple of years, I've taken body blow after body blow after body blow. But there's not going to be a knock down here," Liu said yesterday following the decision by the city's Campaign Finance Board to deny his campaign matching public funds. But he admitted that yesterday's decision by the city's Campaign Finance Board to deny his campaign matching public funds, after citing irregularities, would take a toll.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - It is a familiar refrain by now: in a field stacked with Democratic candidates, it's still too difficult to draw policy lines among the candidates for Manhattan borough president. That's even harder to do when you have two candidates who have served three terms on City Council, another finishing her second and a fourth who has never held elected office. Case in point: At a debate last night, all four candidates seemed to agree on almost everything - even listing the same priorities in the exact same order. All of them think Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Midtown East rezoning plan is moving much too fast.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - It was 2:20 a.m. this morning when cheers and applause erupted in the City Council chambers. Member Ruben Wills, of Queens, had cast the 34th vote to pass a police reform package that some believe could lead to an overhaul of stop-and-frisk and strengthen curbs on racial profiling by police officers. Seconds after the vote tallies came in, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office sent out a statement blasting the vote. "These dangerous pieces of legislation will only hurt our police officers' ability to protect New Yorkers and sustain this tremendous record of accomplishment," Bloomberg wrote, promising to veto the legislation.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - Recovery of money from long-negotiated and overbilled contracts. The elimination of Madison Square Garden's tax-exempt status. A hike in the minimum wage. These are among the top-rated proposals on the People's Budget NYC website, which was created by the city comptroller's office. None of those proposals, it should be noted, has received as many votes as the one put forth by Bruce Carmel, an advocate for adult literacy. "For less than $1,000 per student," Carmel's suggestion reads, "adult literacy programs help people become more prepared for the workforce; parents can better help their children in school; young adults get ready for careers and college."

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - What would likely be the nation's largest expansion of voting rights to immigrants under a proposed city law may not hold up under an expected deluge of legal scrutiny. Hundreds of thousands of immigrant New Yorkers could be added to the voter rolls if city lawmakers approve the bill that would extend to them the same right to cast ballots in local elections as citizens. The bill, which has been re-introduced into the City Council amid a national debate on immigration policy, got its first official hearing yesterday.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - A review of responses to requests for information over three months found "deep inconsistency" across 18 city agencies, with some failing to follow the law, according to a report released by the public advocate's office yesterday. The report singled out the New York Police Department and the city's Housing Authority as particularly egregious in failing to respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Law. While some agencies disputed the report's findings, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who is running for mayor, wants City Hall to intervene to make transparency easier for New Yorkers.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - The hard-earned lessons of Superstorm Sandy shaped a mayoral forum yesterday where candidates fielded questions on waterfront development, expanding ferry service and creating a new agency to oversee the city's vast coastline. While there was little consensus on a range of topics, most of the candidates agreed that ferry service and renewed infrastructure investments were critical to the future of a working, sustainable waterfront. The forum was held on a boat moored off of Pier 40 in lower Manhattan for a conference organized by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK -- The arrest of state Sen. Malcolm Smith on allegations he orchestrated a scheme to bribe his way onto the ballot to run for mayor is bringing renewed attention to the role of party patronage in shaping elections. The corruption allegations against Smith, detailed in a complaint unsealed in federal court yesterday after he was arrested, demonstrate the powerful if limited role that county party leaders continue to exercise in elections through their ability to reward access to their ballots.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - On a recent weekday, Eladia Causil-Rodriguez spoke to a crowded Brooklyn classroom about how she had run a popular day care business while raising four children. Then she told the audience of 50 or so women at the Arab American Association of New York, most of them immigrants from the Middle East, that they could be just as successful. "Use your talents," she said encouragingly to a pattern of nodding heads. "Learn the language. And don't let anybody stop you." Linda Sarsour, the Bay Ridge-based association's executive director, called the session unconventional, since most of their business classes are held at night and are mostly attended by men.

www.gothamgazette.com — NEW YORK - A case brought before the U.S. Supreme Court by a small Alabama county could reshape future election law in New York City, and strip minority groups of federal protections against voter discrimination. The case, Shelby County v. Holder, involves the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 - in particular Section 5, which was created to reverse systemic discrimination against blacks by requiring that all changes to voting laws be reviewed by the Department of Justice. The country's highest court heard oral arguments in the case last week, and some observers believe Section 5 could be struck down by a majority of the justices in the months ahead.