ALBANY – In a legislative session noteworthy mainly for its unproductiveness, the judiciary managed to win approval for much of its agenda. But the main priority of the Third Branch, securing the first rate increase for assigned counsel since the mid 1980s, remains unresolved.
No one seems to know when, if or even why the Legislature will return to Albany this year. And barring some major backroom progress on a matter of political significance – say, reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws – there is little hope that lawmakers will come back.
