Miranda Warnings host David Miranda is joined by NYS Court of Appeals expert and law professor Vin Bonventre and political strategist Liz Benjamin. The Roundtable guests discuss recent efforts to influence the commission considering candidates for Governor Hochul to nominate to the NYS Court of Appeals. They also break down the winners and losers in the summer primaries and look forward to the general election in November.  

New York State Bar Association General Counsel David Miranda hosts a lively roundtable with political strategist Liz Benjamin and constitutional law professor Vin Bonventre. They discuss the swing to the right of the US Supreme Court through its rulings handed down in the Spring of 2022.  

Rulings on reproductive rights, gun rights and religious rights were just three of several issued the court decided this term. Liz Benjamin says no one should be surprised that the court moved to the political right. 

"They have been chomping at the bit for years to do this. This is exactly what conservatives, I will say in their brilliance, have always played the long game. The conservatives have been playing chess while the democrats or liberals play checkers." 

Professor Bonventre says a Justices may change over time and it's a move we have seen before.  "The same thing that happened to Sandra Day O’Conner and Anthony Kennedy has already happened with the Chief Justice pushing him over to the left. I think the same thing’s going to happen to Kavanaugh, maybe also to Amy Coney Barrett." 

Join us for this lively discussion each month on Miranda Warnings: Roundtable.  

"Miranda Warnings" host David Miranda is joined by Albany law professor and constitutional scholar Vin Bonventre and former journalist and political strategist Liz Benjamin. The roundtable discuss the recent resignation of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and what is next for the state's highest court.  

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the New York State Law governing the process to obtain a conceal carry permit for a firearms.

In the case of the New York State Pistol and Rifle Association v Bruen, the high court found that the “probable cause” language in New York’s law was unconstitutional, ruling that part of the law was in violation of the second amendment.

In response, Governor Kathy Hochul called the state legislature back into session to pass new state laws dealing with conceal carry permits. 

The new laws restrict where concealed weapons are allowed, require background checks before buying some types of ammunition and provide changes the laws dealing with locking your weapon in your home or car.

Host David Miranda is joined by New York State Bar Association member Peggy Finerty. She is a partner at Getnick and Getnick in New York City. She is a member of the Committee on the New York State Constitution and the co-chair of the Task Force on Mass Shootings and Assault Weapons.

The two discuss the current legislation to address the conceal carry rules in the Bruen case.

David Miranda took on the issue of cameras in the court and access by the public and the media in this week's episode of his podcast "Miranda Warnings."

The issue came back into the public eye recently with several high profile trials like Kyle Rittenhouse, Derek Chauvin and the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation case.

The New York State legislature also took up the issue of New York's law governing cameras in the courts during the legislative session. In March, Senator Brad Holyman introduced  S792A in the New York State Senate to repeal two parts of the judicial law and civil rights law in New York which deal with allowing cameras in New York courts. There is a companion bill in the New York State Assembly. The bills are still in committee in the legislature. If passed, the bills would give widespread access in the trial courts.

Currently, some media coverage is allowed at the local and county court level if approved by the presiding judge. Judges often allow coverage of arraignments, opening and closing statements, verdicts and sentencings. Under current New York State law, cameras are not allowed to record testimony.

Cameras are allowed at the appellate and court of appeals levels. In those cases there is no testimony, only arguments before a panel of judges.

In the podcast, hear a spirited debate between Daniel Novack and Norm Effman.

Novack is the Associate General Counsel at book publisher Penguin Random House. He is the Co-chair of the New York State Bar Association Media and Law Committee. He supports wide access for cameras in the courts.

Norm Effman is the public defender in Wyoming County and the Executive Director of the Wyoming County Attica Legal Aid Bureau. He is a member of the bar associations criminal justice section and a past member of the NYSBA Executive Committee. He is also a former chair of the mandated representation committee.  Effman believes that there should be restrictions on camera use and that defense counsel should have the right to veto camera use.

During the lively conversation both guests discussed issues such as the public access to courts, the right and protections of witnesses and the rights of the accused. The two guests also discussed issue such as implicit bias and holding public officials accountable.

Sherry Levin Wallach, the 125th President of the New York State Bar Association discusses her priorities as she begins her term. She is focusing on the issues of membership growth and the future of practice in New York. What will legal practice look like going forward in a post-pandemic New York? How can we combat isolation, reconnect and handle mental health challenges facing both clients and their attorneys. Wallach also touches on issues of equal justice for Americans living in US territories and sentencing reform when she joins David Miranda for Miranda Warnings. David Miranda is a past president of the New York State Bar Association and its current General Counsel.   

New York State Bar Association President T. Andrew Brown joins Miranda Warnings to discuss his term as president, guiding the organization through COVID, and taking on major social issues. The 124th President of NYSBA discusses how he raised the profile of the organization through taking on injustice, advancing the organization internationally and providing members support through the pandemic. 

In a special edition of Miranda Warnings Supreme Court expert Prof. Vincent Bonventre and political insider Liz Benjamin discuss the leak of the Supreme Court's draft decision on abortion.

Vincent Bonventre is a recognized Supreme Court expert and Justice Robert H. Jackson Distinguished Professor of Law at Albany Law School.

Liz Benjamin is managing director at Marathon Strategies and is former host of Capital Tonight a nightly political telelvision show out of Albany, NY. 

You can read he full transcript here. 

Author, journalist and Supreme Court expert Linda Greenhouse discusses the court's conservative transformation and her book "Justice on the Brink."
 
Pulitzer Prize winner Linda Greenhouse shares her deep understanding of the Supreme Court and lays out how the institution has gone from being seen as above the political fray to being a deeply political institution.
 
Her book "Justice on the Brink The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Rise of Amy Coney Barrret, and Twelve Months That Transformed the Supreme Court" is available through Random House. 

New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera discusses the success of charitable bail funds, bail reform and parole reform in this lively episode of Miranda Warnings.

Rivera, who is chair of the Senate's Health Committee also discusses the state's approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine mandates.