JUDICIAL REFORMS IN ALBANY

Scarlett O'Hara would have felt right at home in New York State's
Legislature, where lawmakers habitually put off action on important matters
for another day. But some issues involving the state's justice system
cannot wait. Proposals by Gov. George Pataki and others for tougher gun
laws merit prompt attention, as do the Rockefeller drug laws, which deserve
repeal. Here is an abbreviated list of other vital court and criminal
justice reforms needing attention before the Legislature closes shop in
mid-June.

Court restructuring. Three years after Chief Judge Judith Kaye unveiled her
sensible plan to consolidate and simplify New York's archaic court system,
Governor Pataki seems serious about making reform finally happen. But he
will have to beat back attempts to preserve patronage by exempting
Surrogate's Court from the reorganization. The next few weeks are critical.
The overhaul requires amending the State Constitution, meaning it must be
approved by two separate elected Legislatures -- this one and the one to be
chosen in November -- before it gets put before voters.

Assigned counsel fees. Regrettably, the governor and the State Legislature
overlooked pleas to raise the fees for attorneys assigned to represent
indigent defendants -- the so-called 18-B rates -- when they fashioned a
state budget last month. These fees have not been raised for 14 years,
which has led to a mass exodus of experienced attorneys willing to take
assigned counsel work, and a major disruption in the processing of cases. A
way must be found to finance the modest increase Judge Kaye has proposed,
perhaps by splitting the added expense between the state and localities.

Cameras in the courtroom. The wise decision by State Supreme Court Justice
Joseph Teresi to allow televised coverage of the Amadou Diallo murder trial
in Albany has underscored the Legislature's error when it let the state's
successful 10-year experiment with cameras in the courtroom lapse in 1997.
The task now is to revive -- on a permanent basis and without weakening
restrictions -- the proven program of televised access to judicial proceedings.

Sexual assault law reform. New York's law dealing with sexual assault needs
updating to recognize the seriousness of "date rape," change antiquated
terminology and address other problems. The State Assembly speaker, Sheldon
Silver, recently introduced a promising reform package, opening the door
for serious negotiations with the governor and the Senate. Progress now
depends largely on the governor's willingness to drop -- at least for now
- -- controversial parts of his 52-point Sexual Assault Reform Act that are
anathema to the Assembly, such as giving prosecutors the right to appeal
sentences and bail decisions.

DNA tests and statutes of limitations. Governor Pataki has shown a laudable
interest in taking advantage of DNA technology to improve the criminal
justice system. He recently proposed a new state DNA Review Committee to
examine all convictions in New York that were overturned because of new
genetic evidence. But his call for ending the statute of limitations for
all class B violent felony offenses is too broad. A sound compromise would
lift the statute of limitations for rape and a limited number of other
violent offenses in which decisive biological evidence would most likely be
present.