ALBANY – Deferring to state policy makers, a deeply divided state appellate court yesterday dismissed a suit contending that New York had abdicated its constitutional duty to provide legal representation to indigent criminal defendants.
“There can be little doubt that what plaintiffs seek in this action — a massive overhaul of this state’s public defense system — has obvious and ominous implications for the constitutional principle of separation of powers,” Justice E. Michael Kavanagh wrote for a 3-2 majority of the Appellate Division, Third Department, in Hurrell-Harring v. State of New York, 505670. “Their claim, if granted, necessarily involves the judicial assumption of traditional legislative priorities.”
The Third Department decision will be published Monday.
