Tagged: New York Legislation

Will NYS Establish the Independent Office of Correctional Ombudsman?

The New York State Assembly will soon vote on Assembly Bill No. 9939, which would establish independent oversight of NY’s prisons.  Prof. Michael B. Mushlin drafted a letter in support of the Bill, which he sent to the Speaker Heastie on June 7, 2016.

The purpose of the 2015 Assembly Bill No. 9939 is summarized as follows:

[This Bill] creates the office of the correctional ombudsman to achieve transparency, fairness, impartiality, and accountability in New York state correctional facilities; relates to reports by coroners; designates investigators of the office of the correctional ombudsman as peace officers; authorizes the attorney general to investigate the alleged commission of any criminal offense committed by an employee of the department of corrections and community supervision in connection with his or her official duties; relates to the confidentiality of certain records; and includes the office of the correctional ombudsman records within the definition of public safety agency records; makes related provisions.

Prof. Mushlin concludes his letter with a quote from the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy from his 2003 speech to the American Bar Association:

It is no defense if our current prison syste is more the product of neglect than of purpose. Out of sight, out of mind is an unacceptable excuse for a prison system that incarcerates over two million human beings in the United States.

Related Readings:

New New York Legislation Against Cyberbullying

BY: Jessica Piperis

Bullying has been prevalent on school grounds even before the idea of the Internet or social media ever came into being. Today, bullying doesn’t stop at the playground: it follows children home by lurking on Facebook, Twitter, Instant Message, and the like. It seems never to go away and children are completely surrounded, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.  One can imagine how overwhelming this type of pressure must feel.

On July 9, 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new piece of legislation with the aim of combating cyberbullying in schools. Section 13 of New York State’s Education Law is meant to “strengthen a school’s response to harassment and bullying” according to Cuomo’s released press statement. This new law contains three provisions to help protect students: (1) schools are required to act in cases of cyberbullying even if it happens off school grounds; (2) school districts are required to create protocols that deal with cyberbullying; and (3) current school employees, as well as future employees are required to have training in identifying and preventing cyberbullying. The new law creates a platform for schools to raise awareness within schools through policies and procedures.

While this new piece of legislation purports to take a legal stand against cyberbullying, in reality it fails to prevent actual cyberbullying. That is, while the law requires educators to take action against cyberbullying, it only requires action after the bullying has already occurred.  It thus fails to address the issue of educating all students and especially those students who are participating in cyberbullying.  Education can and should begin at a very young age within the school system and should include the education of parents.  And, in order to create real deterrence, it may be necessary to create cyberbullying as a crime.

To be sure, the new law is a step in the right direction and it shows that the legislature has begun to tackle a difficult, but very real issue. However, the legislature has failed to make any real change by creating this law because it does not address the issue beyond the realm of the educational system.

Section 13 of New York State’s Education Law will go into effect July 1, 2013.