Cy's Plan For The Future

Reforming Our Criminal Court

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As a Director of the Fund for Modern Courts , and as someone who has
spent more than 20 years engaged in sentencing reform issues, I
understand the benefits of problem-solving courts that engage victims,
offenders and neighborhoods in creative solutions that reduce crime. At
the same time, more resources and energy must be devoted to improving
the quality of justice in Manhattan’s Criminal Court.

The Criminal Court has jurisdiction principally over misdemeanor offenses such as theft, harassment, non-felony assault, or quality of life crimes. It is crucial to the proper functioning of our court system and to the people of Manhattan, because this is where over 90% of the Manhattan District Attorney’s caseload is prosecuted. In fact, most crime victims and defendants form their impression of our justice system – for better or worse – as a result of their contact with the Criminal Court, and not because they have been victims of the most serious crimes such as murder, rape, robbery or burglary, which are prosecuted in Supreme Court, the felony trial court.

The Criminal Court, however, handles many cases that are not minor. They can involve serious incidents of domestic and interpersonal violence, harassment and assault, high risk offenders or repeat criminals. Since 1997, there has been a 24% increase in Criminal Court caseload. But the number of judges available to try cases has remained static. This, among other things, has led to a huge Criminal Court backlog, with prosecutors and Legal Aid lawyers – as well as judges – handling caseloads far in excess of optimal levels. As a result, many cases cannot be investigated as thoroughly and promptly as justice requires, judges must manage over-crowded dockets that affect their ability to focus on each case individually, and many cases are dismissed on speedy trial grounds. Inevitably, public confidence in our justice system is undermined.

We have a shared responsibility to ensure that the Criminal Court has resources equal to its important role in our court system. One of our first priorities will be to work cooperatively with all branches of government, and the agencies involved, to increase trial capacity for misdemeanors and to improve the quality of justice for the people of Manhattan.

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  • "I support Cy Vance in this year’s election because I believe he is the best qualified, by his experience and his views, to keep this office the strongest in the nation."

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Robert M. Morgenthau
    Manhattan District Attorney

  • "Cy is the most experienced candidate in the race, and he has the support of those who best understand what is needed in our next DA. He has served as an outstanding prosecutor, criminal defense lawyer, commissioner for sentencing reform and community leader. But perhaps most importantly, through his long career, he has maintained the ability to combine pragmatism and idealism to achieve justice."

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Caroline Kennedy
    Activist, Author, Attorney

  • “Cy Vance is an accomplished lawyer, a passionate advocate and a true progressive. But most importantly, he embodies a characteristic that I believe is essential for the Manhattan DA: fairness. "

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Hon. David Dinkins
    Former Mayor, New York City

  • "Cy will be the kind of progressive D.A. that Manhattan needs – a lifelong opponent of the death penalty and supporter of the rights of women, LGBT people, and people of color. Throughout his career as a distinguished trial lawyer, Cy has embodied the principles of fairness and integrity that have long been central to the Manhattan D.A.’s office. He will work tirelessly to protect our communities."

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Betsy Gotbaum
    Public Advocate, New York City

  • "The people of Manhattan expect and deserve a DA that will handle criminal justice issues with fairness and integrity... Cy has spent his career working on these issues [crime prevention, alternatives to incarceration, economic crime and financial fraud] from inside the courtroom, and his expertise is second to none. Manhattan DA is an important job, and it demands a leader with unparalleled legal skill and the utmost integrity."

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    H. Carl McCall
    Former Comptroller, NYS

  • "It's clear that Cy Vance has the experience and judgment necessary to lead such an important office. He has spent a lifetime in the courtroom, working on both sides of complex cases... We are endorsing Cy because we trust that he will look out for working families to make sure that they are safe and justice is being served."

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Gregory Floyd
    President, Teamsters Local 237

  • “Cy's innovative vision of how to forge a greater partnership between prosecutors, police and the community is exactly the type of forward thinking that we believe will make this city an even safer place to live and work... Of all the candidates in the race, Cy is the only one with the right experience to run this office.”

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Ed Mullins
    President, Sergeants Benevolent Association

  • “…an attorney in the tradition of Hogan and Morgenthau who will carry on a policy of fairness and toughness as chief law enforcement officer for New York County.”

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Eleanor Jackson Piel
    Veteran Civil Rights Attorney

  • "Cyrus Vance has the experience and wisdom to understand that the public safety that New Yorkers deserve will not be achieved as the accidental by-product of business as usual prosecutions.  Cy Vance has long advocated the kind of proactive engagement with local communities that can produce dramatic crime reduction in the areas of our city most in need.”

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Zachary Carter
    Former U.S. Attorney,
    Eastern District of New York

  • “We can be confident that Cy Vance will continue the traditions of effective law enforcement, fairness and justice that have defined and distinguished the Manhattan DA’s Office.”

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    David Boies
    Chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP

  • "Cy Vance's advocacy of reform of the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws will help addicts get the treatment that they need instead of the prison time that turns them into hardened criminals."

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Rev. Reggie Williams
    Chairman of the United Missionary Baptist Association’s Commission for Human and Economic Development
    Pastor - Charity Baptist Church of Christ

  • “Cy Vance is clearly the best qualified, most experienced, and most decent candidate to meet the enormous challenges and responsibilities of the office of District Attorney of New York County.”

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Victor A. Kovner
    Former Corporation Counsel of the City of New York under Mayor David Dinkins

  • "As a superb prosecutor and leading member of the defense bar, Cy Vance is the candidate best qualified to lead this great office."

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Author Linda Fairstein
    Former Chief, Sex Crimes Unit, Manhattan DA's Office

  • "Cy Vance has the experience, judgment and integrity to preserve the best traditions of this office and to ensure public safety and fairness.  Cy Vance is my choice for District Attorney.”

    Endorser Name & Title: 

    Michael Cherkasky
    Former Chief, Investigations Division, Manhattan District Attorney's Office

  • Endorser Name & Title: 
    “Cy Vance has the integrity, the experience and the energy to be a great District Attorney and a very worthy successor to Bob Morgenthau.”

    Robert Fiske
    Former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York

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