Government accountability groups want increased transparency in New York criminal court decisions. This comes after a new report finds only 6% of decisions are published annually.

Since the number of judges presiding over criminal cases isn't made available by the court system, it's uncertain how many judges aren't publishing decisions. Of the 600 New York criminal court judges publishing at least one decision, 20 were responsible for 28% of all decisions published.

Oded Oren, executive director of Scrutinize, a judicial accountability group, explained why transparency is so important.

"When decisionmakers or New Yorkers need to make a decision about whether to reappoint or re-elect a judge, it is important that they have information before them to understand how this judge is applying the law and what their decisions are," Oren said.

Without these written decisions, assessing judicial decision making and its impacts are much harder. One concern is a person's identity being made public in a published ruling.

Oren pointed out that, instead of putting a person's full name, judges can use a person's initials, their last name only or simply redact that information.

While laws are on the books about how decisions can be published, they're not being enforced. Reasons these decisions aren't being published include judges having high workloads, or feeling their day-to-day rulings aren't so important.

Rachael Fauss, senior policy analyst with Reinvent Albany, said there are ways to make it easier for judicial decisions to be published.

"Sometimes oral decisions are given, so a judge will say what the decision is and there's a transcript of that," Fauss said. "So, the transcripts could get published in the cases where there is not a written decision."

The report's recommendations include passing a bill requiring written decisions by criminal court judges to be publicly available online. This legislation will be introduced during the 2024 session of the New York State Legislature.


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More than 60 Pennsylvania counties do not have enough public defenders for their caseloads, forcing some, including in Erie County, to each handle more than 400 cases a year.

A report by Quattrone Center at the University of Pennsylvania said the state needs more than 1,200 full-time public defenders but has about 850.

Sara Jacobson, executive director of the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, said the state was one of only two providing no funding for public defense but $7.5 million was allocated in the last two state budgets. Jacobson acknowledged it has helped, although spread across 67 counties, it is not enough to make real change in places like Erie County.

"Erie got in 2023-2024 a little over $102,000. The second appropriation: $106,723," Jacobson pointed out. "The problem is that when you add the cost of an attorney's salary and benefits, the money that's there is not enough when it gets divided up."

The report found Erie County would need 28 full-time attorneys to handle the large caseload but currently has nine full-time and eight part-time attorneys. At a recent news conference, Clinton County Commissioner Jeff Snyder said the state's allocation of funding for indigent defense would have to double, to $15 million a year to handle the growing need.

Jacobson noted heavy caseloads cause delays, both for public defenders and clients. She added prior to the pandemic, Erie County had top public defender pay but now, some attorneys are leaving for better-paying work in the Erie conflict office.

"Conflict Counsel in Erie County gets paid more and has a far lower caseload," Jacobson explained. "Every time someone leaves, their 400 or however many cases have to be distributed among the other lawyers. So those caseloads go up and the service to those clients goes down because of it."

Jacobson cited a Vanderbilt Law School study, which found each exoneration for a wrongful conviction costs a state $6.1 million. With at least 140 exonerations, it adds up to $856 million in costs for Pennsylvania.

Indiana lawmakers continue to debate THC rules while surrounding states move forward with marijuana legalization.

Senate Bill 478 targets packaging and branding rules for legal THC products sold to people 21 and older. Lawmakers want to prevent the products from mimicking candy or snacks, which might appeal to minors. The bill would require testing and stricter packaging for craft hemp flower and other THC items.

Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, sponsored the bill.

"This market right now is the wild, wild West," Teshka contended. "I think what this bill attempts to do is to ensure that the safety of Hoosier youth and Hoosier consumers comes first and primary in our efforts to regulate this product."

Delta 8, Delta 9 and Delta 10 products-chemicals with THC levels under 0.3% remain legal in Indiana and often appear in gas stations, smoke shops and dispensaries. Committee members provided input for possible changes to the bill and recessed before acting but plan to reconvene soon.

Although marijuana sales remain illegal in Indiana, nearby states allow both recreational and medical use. Across the country, nearly 40 states allow medical marijuana and 24 permit recreational sales.

Rep. Timothy Wesco, R-Osceola, said in conference committee Monday the current bill offers far too many permits.

"In the future, if there are additional permits needed we could always come back and increase that number of permits," Wesco argued. "But the 20,000 is essentially more than 200 locations per county in our state on average, and I think is far too accessible and available."

The House has passed two amendments to the bill this session. One limits sales near schools and another changes the definition of e-liquids.


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Parents of students killed or injured in school-zone crosswalks are backing a measure in the Ohio General Assembly to increase the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony.

The bill, entitled "Aspen Runnel's Law," was introduced after 15-year-old Aspen Runnels was struck and killed in a crosswalk outside Lakota East Freshman School in Butler County last year.

Aspen's mother, Christina Alcorn, said the 30-day sentence given to the driver is not enough of a deterrent for speeding in a school zone.

"We're hoping that people will start paying a little bit more attention," said Alcorn, "because we all have children in our lives - whether it's our own children, grandchildren, godchildren, nieces, nephews, whatever it may be. Almost everybody has a child in their life that they want to see come home safely."

The driver pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in Aspen's death and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 60 days of house arrest, probation, and community service.

The new law would make vehicular homicide in a school zone a felony, with six to 18 months in prison and fines of up to $5,000.

Alcorn is working to pass the bill with another Ohio mother, Trisha Parnell, whose daughter Maddy was struck and seriously injured in 2018 in a collision in a school zone in the same district.

Alcorn said she was shocked by how lenient the school zone penalties were compared to other types of collisions.

"We were a little baffled," said Alcorn. "Most people that we've spoken to about this have been, first of all, surprised that this wasn't already a law on the book, but also that the children in the school zone were not considered protected like a construction zone would be."

House Bill 203 awaits a hearing before the Ohio House Judiciary Committee. Alcorn said she wants tougher consequences so drivers think twice before speeding in a school zone.

"The main thing is that the charges are elevated," said Alcorn, "and that people feel a deterrent for speeding or distracted driving in school zones."

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, more than 3,200 people were killed in 2023 by distracted drivers.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.



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