The Kings County Criminal Bar Association held its monthly Continuing Legal Education meeting on Jan. 25, where some of the borough’s top judges gave their annual “State of the Criminal Courts” update.
President Darran Winslow welcomed Hon. Matthew D’Emic, Hon. Keshia Espinal and Hon. Craig Walker, who shared updates on challenges such as resource shortages affecting court officers and an increase in case filings. Despite these obstacles, efforts are being made to manage the caseload more effectively and expedite case processing.
“Everybody in this bar knows that these judges set the tone in Brooklyn and make it a fantastic place to practice law,” Winslow said. “They are really fine people on top of being fantastic judges.”
As was previously mentioned, the panel included Justice D’Emic, the administrative judge of the Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term; Justice Espinal, the supervising judge of the Kings County Criminal Court; and Justice Walker, the presiding justice of the Youth Part. Each shared insights into the operational hurdles and progress of their respective courts.
Justice D’Emic explained that despite a 3 percent increase in pending cases, significant progress was made, with an 11 percent rise in trials and more that 1,000 hearings conducted.
Challenges included a 23 percent surge in filed indictments and managing older cases, particularly those involving incarcerated defendants for more than two years. Additionally, the “gun initiative” saw a reduction in cases by 12 percent this year compared to last.
Espinal highlighted the operational challenges and collaborative efforts to maintain efficiency in one of the busiest criminal courts in the state, possibly the country.
In 2023, the court saw a significant increase in arraignments, with 23,960 online arrests, not including Desk Appearance Tickets (DATs), marking a rise from the previous year. Espinal noted the impact of NYPD…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply