Bar task force to study wrongful convictions

ALBANY - Saying wrongful convictions undermine public confidence in the justice system, the New York State Bar Association president has established a task force of 22 professors, former judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and others to identify rules, procedures and statutes contributing to the problem.

“For each wrongful conviction that surfaces, how many others are still unfairly resolved?” said Manhattan attorney Bernice Leber, named president of the 74,000-member association on Monday.

“The problem of wrongful convictions has reached, I would say, national epidemic status,” Leber said. Three states - California, North Carolina and Texas - have established formal innocence commissions and have exonerated hundreds of people, while similar legislation in New York “hasn't gained too much traction yet,” she said.