NYSBA WINTER 2014 | VOL. 16 | NO. 2 Government, Law and Policy Journal A Publication of the New York State Bar Association Produced in cooperation with the Government Law Center at Albany Law School New York: A Laboratory for Innovative Public Policy • Progressive Policy and Legislation in New York State • Pumping Oxygen into the Room: The Death Penalty • New York’s Leadership Role in Drug Law and Criminal Sentencing Reform • Evidence-Based Public Safety Management: The Diffusion of Compstat • Alternatives to Incarceration: The New York Story • NYC FUSE Reentry Housing • Great Moments in New York Pro Bono History • Pushing the Envelope on Pro Bono: The New York Judiciary’s Initiatives in Legal Education • State Intervention in Municipal Fiscal Distress • Public Authorities and Their Reform: A New York State Innovation NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION From the NYSBA Book Store > Members get 20% discount* New York with coupon code Contract Law PUB2866N A Guide for Non-New York Attorneys Also Available as a Downloadable PDF! AUTHOR Glen Banks, Esq. Norton Rose Fulbright New York Contract Law: A Guide for Non-New York Attorneys is an in- valuable reference allowing the practitioner to quickly and easily gain an understanding of New York Contract Law. Many contracts involving parties outside the United States contain a New York choice-of-law clause and, up PRODUCT INFO AND PRICES until now, the foreign practitioner had no practical, authoritative reference 2014 • 622 pp., softbound to turn to when they had a question regarding New York Law. New York PN:4172 – Book & CD Contract Law: A Guide for Non-New York Attorneys fi lls this void. In addi- PN: 4172E – Downloadable PDF tion to lawyers outside the United States, this book will also benefi t lawyers within the United States whose practice includes advising clients regarding Order Now! contracts governed by New York Law. NYSBA Members $95 Non-members $120 Written by Glen Banks, Esq., a recognized authority on contract law with A $60 fee is charged for shipping and han- over 35 years’ experience, this book is presented in an easy-to-read ques- dling outside the continental U.S. A $5.95 tion-and-answer format to allow easy access to a wide array of topics. All shipping and handling fee applies to orders shipped within the continental U.S. Prices do aspects of contract law are covered, from the basic requirements of a valid not include applicable sales tax. contract to a contract’s termination, assignment or repudiation. Particular agreements and clauses are discussed as well as the role of counsel when *Discount good until April 30, 2014. working on a transaction governed by New York Law. Resources for further study and to keep up on changes in New York Law are also provided. For your convenience, New York Contract Law: A Guide for Non-New York Attorneys can be purchased in hard copy (which includes a CD containing “All told, a genuine gift to the entire book in a searchable, pdf format) or can be downloaded as an those in search of the ready, e-book in a pdf format. reliable New York contract law Key Discussions answer, whether they are lo- Is there a binding agreement? cated in, or beyond, our state’s Is that agreement valid and enforceable? How is meaning given to the terms of the agreement? borders.” What constitutes a breach of the contract? From the Foreword by Judith S. Kaye, Former When is a breach excused? Chief Judge of the State of New York How is action taken to enforce the contract after a breach? What remedy can the court grant to redress a breach? Get the Information Edge 1.800.582.2452 www.nysba.org/pubs Mention Code: PUB2866N WINTER 2014 | VOL. 16 | NO. 2 Government, Law and Policy Journal Contents Board of Editors 2 Editor’s Foreword J. Stephen Casscles Rose Mary K. Bailly Lisa F. Grumet James F. Horan 3 Introduction: New York: A Laboratory for Innovative Public Policy Barbara F. Smith Scott Fein Albany Law School 4 Progressive Policy and Legislation in New York State, Continued: Editorial Board The Last Four Decades Rose Mary K. Bailly Dan Feldman Editor-in-Chief Ray Brescia 10 Pumping Oxygen into the Room Director, Jonathan E. Gradess and Shari Silberstein Government Law Center Vincent M. Bonventre 18 New York’s Leadership Role in Drug Law and Criminal Sentencing Reform Founding Editor-in-Chief John R. Dunne and Nicholas J. Faso Student Editors 25 Evidence-Based Public Safety Management: The Diffusion of Compstat Lindsay Danello Dennis C. Smith and William Bratton Executive Editor Sarah Coligan 36 Alternatives to Incarceration: The New York Story Alexander Cooper Greg Berman and Robert V. Wolf Sarah Engster Jacqueline Goralzyck 41 NYC FUSE Reentry Housing: A Scalable, Data-Driven Solution for a Kerri Tily “Wicked Issue” Kimberly Waldin Martin F. Horn and Ryan J. Moser Senior Editors Editorial Offi ce 51 Great Moments in New York Pro Bono History GLP Journal Henry M. Greenberg Government Law Center Albany Law School 57 Pushing the Envelope on Pro Bono: The New York Judiciary’s Initiatives 80 New Scotland Avenue in Legal Education Albany, NY 12208 Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman 518.445.2329 Send Address Changes to: 63 State Intervention in Municipal Fiscal Distress New York State Bar Assoc. Peter J. Kiernan One Elk Street Albany, New York 12207 73 Public Authorities and Their Reform: A New York State Innovation 518.463.3200 Scott Fein [email protected] The Government, Law and Policy Journal welcomes submissions and suggestions on subjects of interest to attorneys employed or otherwise engaged in public service. Views expressed in articles or letters published are the authors’ only and are not to be attributed to the editors, the Government Law Center, or the Association unless expressly so stated. Authors are responsible for the correctness of all citations and quotations. Contact the editor-in-chief for submission guidelines. Material accepted for publication becomes the property of the Association. Copyright © 2014 by the New York State Bar Association. ISSN 1530-3942 (print) ISSN 1933-8414 (online). The Journal is published twice a year. Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities: NYSBA welcomes participation by individuals with disabilities. NYSBA is committed to complying with all applicable laws that prohibit discrimination against individuals on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of its goods, services, programs, activities, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. To request auxiliary aids or services or if you have any questions regarding accessibility, please contact the Bar Center at (518) 463-3200. Editor’s Foreword EXCELSIOR! New York’s motto, Ever Upward, is emblematic of this respective articles, Great issue, New York: A Laboratory for Innovative Public Policy. Moments in New York Pro Scott Fein, Esq., our guest editor and Chairman of the Bono History and Pushing Advisory Board to the Government Law Center, has or- the Envelope on Pro Bono: The ganized a celebration of New York policy innovations. As New York Judiciary’s Initiatives Scott notes in his introduction, New York’s innovations in Legal Education, explore have infl uenced the shape of public policy and social wel- the past, the present and fu- fare far beyond its borders. My thanks to Scott and this ture of New York attorneys’ group of experts who show us how. efforts to bridge the gap in access to justice. In State Progressive Policy and Dan Feldman’s article, Intervention in Municipal Legislation in New York State, Continued: The Last Four Fiscal Distress, Peter Kiernan Decades provides a history of New York’s legislative lead- examines how New York State responded to the fi scal ership in fi ghting crime, preserving the environment, crisis facing New York City in the late 1970s and evaluates protecting free speech and affording equal rights before the soundness of that approach by considering responses the law. to fi nancial distress currently plaguing cities across the In their article, Pumping Oxygen into the Room, country. Jonathan E. Gradess and Shari Silberstein examine the de- Lastly, our guest editor, Scott Fein, discusses public mise of the death penalty in New York and the infl uence authorities, one of his favorite topics, in Public Authorities of that decision on responses to crime here and in other and Their Reform: A New York State Innovation. states. I would like to use this opportunity to express my John Dunne and Nicholas Faso explore the diffi cult gratitude to our Executive Editor for 2014, Lindsay work of reforming the Rockefeller Drug Laws in New Danello, Albany Law School, Class of 2015, for her pro- York’s Leadership Role in Drug Law and Criminal Sentencing fessionalism, enthusiasm and seemingly unending pa- Reform. tience. She and her Albany Law School colleagues, Sarah Compstat, a public management innovation that Coligan, Alexander Cooper, Sarah Engster, Jacqueline originated in New York City to address crime preven- Goralzyck, Kerri Tily, and Kimberly Waldin from the Class tion, successfully spread beyond crime. In their article, of 2015 deserve thanks for their forbearance in putting Evidence-Based Public Safety Management: The Diffusion of this issue together. My thanks also to the staff of the New Compstat, Dennis C. Smith and William Bratton examine York State Bar Association, Dan McMahon, Pat Wood, that development. Megan O’Toole, Wendy Harbour, and Lyn Curtis, for their help and expertise. My thanks fi nally to Ray Brescia, the The next two articles, Alternatives to Incarceration: Government Law Center’s Executive Director, for his help The New York Story by Greg Berman and Robert V. Wolf, and support. and NYC FUSE Reentry Housing: A Scalable, Data-Driven Solution for a “Wicked Issue” by Martin F.