Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied: DA Candidate Lucy Lang To Create Pandemic Justice Task Force To Tackle Unprecedented Backlog Facing Manhattan Criminal Courts
March 2, 2021
Today, Manhattan District Attorney Candidate Lucy Lang announced that as DA, she will create a task force unprecedented case backlog facing the Manhattan Criminal Courts due to COVID-19 – a situation that is causing harm to thousands of victims, people accused of crimes, and their families.
Since COVID-19 hit New York City almost exactly one year ago, shutting down the grand juries, trials, and virtually all daily courthouse operations, thousands of cases have languished indefinitely in Manhattan Criminal Courts. New Yorkers charged with crimes have had their day in court denied, with their court case hanging over their heads, unresolved. Tragically, some New Yorkers have even contracted COVID-19 while awaiting their court cases in jail. Equally troubling, thousands of victims are facing their own lack of resolution and have lived for months with the knowledge that the person who has harmed them has not been held accountable, and that as a victim they may still yet be required to testify against that person at some unknown future date.
There is no doubt that this unprecedented backlog will persist, and the next Manhattan District Attorney must plan for fair and efficient dispositions of these cases, which will take extraordinary dedication and hard work from staff, as well as improved efficiencies.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. The case backlog facing the Manhattan Criminal Courts has been a slow-moving crisis for the entire criminal justice system – from victims, to those accused of crimes, and their families,” said Manhattan District Attorney Candidate Lucy Lang. “Victims deserve to be heard and those accused of crimes deserve their day in court – particularly in the midst of a pandemic that is devastating people in prisons and jails. As the next Manhattan District Attorney, I will work with partners across New York City to prioritize addressing this unprecedented backlog which is causing long-unresolved pain to so many New Yorkers.”
As the next Manhattan District Attorney, Lang will prioritize the devastating case backlog caused by the pandemic, which is causing long-unresolved pain to thousands of New Yorkers. Lang will create a Pandemic Justice Task Force comprised of:
All five New York City District Attorney's Offices
All of the City's indigent defense organizations
The Office of Court Administration
Community-based organizations
Volunteer retired criminal attorneys
This task force would:
Collaboratively invest in a process to develop appropriate responses to each of these many cases that is commensurate with the conduct, offers resolution to the victim, and provides finality to the person charged
Leverage the DA's Office locations in Harlem and Washington Heights
Employ technological tools to create virtual opportunities for court appearances when possible and appropriate
To learn more about Lucy’s priorities, visit her plans page.