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Articles by Joseph Lentol
Commentary: Don't roll back Raise the Age. Fund it properly instead.
In 2018, after more than a decade of consideration, New York raised the age of adult criminal responsibility for some charged offenses from 16 to 18. Previously, New York shared with North Carolina the dubious distinction of having the lowest age of adult criminal responsibility in the nation.
Flawed bail reform data can still chart path forward
The recent release by New York courts of bail data following the 2020 implementation of controversial reforms has some politicians working overtime to roll back these historic changes. With a spike in crime and higher rearrest rates, they cite the data as evidence that bail reform has made New York cities and towns less safe.
No reason to delay legal system reforms
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April signed into law sweeping changes to our broken criminal legal system that were passed as part of New York state's budget. As the primary Senate and Assembly sponsors of this legislation, we believe that the new bail, discovery and speedy trial laws will completely transform the experience of impacted people and communities that have long been victims of our discriminatory system.
New York needs a new criminal discovery law
The state’s current ‘blindfold law’ unfairly disadvantages defendants. In August 2015, Terrell Gills was arraigned on charges for a crime that he did not commit. He spent the next 18 months of his life in jail because of New York’s antiquated discovery laws. If he were arrested almost anywhere else in the country, even in North Carolina or Texas, his defense team would have had access to basic evidence that would have proven his innocence and spared him jail time and a trial.
Why New York should eliminate cash bail for smaller crimes
At the United States’ founding, we were told that all men are created equal, but chattel slavery thrived. During the Jim Crow era, Southern states separated people by race, treating African-Americans as second-class citizens. Today, the hypocrisy continues: We are told that American justice is blind to a defendant’s race or wealth, but we incarcerate people because they are poor and because of racist policing practices targeting black and brown people – a successor to slavery.
'Raise the age' was Albany's best act, but it's not enough | Crain's New York Business
When legislation to keep children out of adult jails and prisons was introduced 12 years ago in the state Assembly, New York was charging 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for minor offenses like getting into a fight or carrying a small bag of marijuana. These children’s brains were not fully developed and did not have the capacity to fully understand the repercussions of their actions.
New York's imbalanced discovery law
Tuesday, May 16 marks New York’s official Discovery Reform Lobby Day, where defense organizations and respected legal groups will call for the repeal of our state’s restrictive discovery statue, dubbed “The Blindfold Law.” The Blindfold Law allows prosecutors to withhold police reports and other vital information from the defense team until the day a trial begins.
Assemblyman's Pro-Airbnb Legislation Plagiarizes Lingo From Company's Memo - Williamsburg - DNAinfo New York
BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn assemblyman's written argument for his bill aimed at upending city laws governing short-term rentals plagiarizes several paragraphs from a memo by Airbnb. Joseph Lentol's "one-host one-home" provision, introduced into the state Assembly on April 28, justifies the need for the law using two paragraphs written by the short-term rental company's policy team in 2016, the Times Union first reported.
Cuomo's chance to do justice for New York's indigent | Crain's New York Business
Nearly a decade before I came to the New York State Legislature in 1972, the highest courts in the nation and state recognized the constitutional right to counsel, regardless of financial means, in cases that could deprive people of their liberty. Before I became an elected official, I was an assistant district attorney, so I know the importance of having a skilled, resourced defense attorney assisting those who stand accused of crimes.
Bring back New York's music industry
You don't know what you've got till it's gone” is an appropriate way of describing New York's relationship with music. For years we have taken for granted our place as the epicenter of the music world. The thinking went something like this: “We're the birthplace of genres from doo-wop to hip-hop, and the home of the greatest musical geniuses and music's greatest venues. Of course people will always want to make music in New York—it's New York!” We were wrong.
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