The state Court of Appeals will review a pre-arraignment interview program conducted by the Queens District Attorney’s Office. Judge Robert Smith (See Profile) on May 20 granted the prosecution’s leave to appeal the Appellate Division, Second Department’s January ruling calling for new trials in People v. Dunbar, 2010-04786, People v. Lloyd-Douglas, 2010-03736, and People v. Polhill, 2010-01680.
At the Second Department, the prosecution asserted that the six-year-old program was constitutional. But a unanimous panel, in an opinion written by Justice Peter Skelos (See Profile), held the script read to defendants in the cases prior to hearing their Miranda warnings deprived them of their right against self-incrimination (NYLJ, Jan. 31). The interviews are still being done but with a revised script.
