New York Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In 2007, Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins added the Conviction Integrity Unit to his office. The unit -amongst other things- reviews DNA cases post-conviction to determine if someone was erroneously convicted. The unit has a staff of three people- an assistant district attorney, an investigator and a legal assistant.

The unit works in partnership with Innocence Project of Texas. There have been at least eighteen persons cleared of crimes in Dallas because of review of DNA evidence including Patrick Waller, James Woodward, Thomas McGowan and Charles Chatman. The unit is the first of its kind in the country. I hope that it is not the last.

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Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that former Schenectady Police Chief Gregory Kaczmarek and his wife –Lisa Kaczmarek- have each been indicted of six crimes based upon their alleged involvement with a cocaine and marijuana distribution ring. The charges include one count of conspiracy in the second degree; two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree; two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree and one count of conspiracy in the 6th degree. The top count-conspiracy in the second degree- is a B felony which carries a maximum prison sentence of twenty-five years to life. The indictment supersedes an earlier indictment handed down last spring that charged twenty-three other defendants with participating in a drug ring transporting drugs from Long Island to the Schenectady. Nineteen of the defendants have entered pleas of guilty to date. The Attorney General’s office correctly notes in its press release that the charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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Posted In: Recent News , Stories of Interest

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