Former NY chief judge supports Tish James’ criminal justice reform proposal
Letitia James, a candidate for attorney general in New York, and public advocate in NYC, unveiled a plan to reform the criminal justice system on Wednesday, and former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman is already a fan.
Timing her announcement to coincide with the four-year anniversary of the Eric Garner killing, James outlined her plan that will include expanding and codifying the attorney general’s role as special prosecutor, creating a commission to hold prosecutors accountable, more transparency in police departments, discovery reform and an expansion of body cameras.
“The package of criminal justice reforms released today by Tish James focusing on police and prosecutorial accountability is exactly what all candidates for Attorney General should be doing to ensure equal justice in our state,” said Lippman, the former chief judge of the NYS Court of Appeals.
James touted reforms that have been made in the wake of Garner’s death and the death of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Anton Sterling, such as the end of stop-and-frisk, and the appointment of the special prosecutor for police-involved killings, but said that the state has to do more.