In a recent statement to the Los Angeles community, Rabbinical Leaders intimated that the reporting of abuse to local law enforcement might subject the reporting party (victim or mandated reporter) to State defamation laws.
Aside from addressing many of the misstatements of law, inaccuracies about their roles, etc. it is imperative that this perspective be clarified.
California Civil Code section 47 provides for a “privileged” communication (i.e., one of immunity) where the communication was made to report a crime, or making a statement to Law Enforcement concerning a crime.
A privileged publication or broadcast is one made:
(a) In the proper discharge of an official duty.
(b) In any (1) legislative proceeding, (2) judicial proceeding, (3) in any other official proceeding authorized by law, or (4) in the initiation or course of any other proceeding authorized by law and reviewable pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except as follows:
….
(d) (1) By a fair and true report in, or a communication to, a public journal, of (A) a judicial, (B) legislative, or (C) other public official proceeding, or (D) of anything said in the course thereof, or (E) of a verified charge or complaint made by any person to a public official, upon which complaint a warrant has been issued. (2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall make privileged any communication to a public journal that does any of the following: (A) Violates Rule 5-120 of the State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct. (B) Breaches a court order. (C) Violates any requirement of confidentiality imposed by law.
What does this mean? Anyone can make a police report of abuse, and be shielded from a lawsuit for defamation. Thus, a victim that reports abuse to the police, even if the case cannot be prosecuted (because there is insufficient evidence, its not provable, or other reasons), they will be protected from any civil liability for this report.
Contrast this with making a statement to a Rabbinical Board. First, such a statement does constitute defamatory language and can subject the victim to being sued! Second, the police will maintain confidentiality until they can bring charges, whereas a Rabbinical Board will not.
Take the scenario to its logical entirety. A victim tells four rabbis she was abused. What is the next step? They obviously would never act on the victim’s word alone…right? Rather, they call in the accused and confront him. Necessarily (and by Halachic requirements) they shed the victim of her anonymity. The accused admits or denies. If he admits, the Board acts to “treat/evaluate/heal” him.
Guess what? The victim made an accusatory statement that is defamatory and not privileged. She can be sued.
In sum: you are much better off telling the police than rabbis. With the police, you will be protected from being sued. Whereas in the latter scenario the accused can sue you for defamation.
Full article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/debunking-myth-defamation-sex-abuse-cases-benny-forer
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-06-13 01:24:492015-06-13 01:24:49Benny Forer, Debunking the Myth of Defamation in Sex Abuse Cases
The Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal has resulted in several legal reforms in Pennsylvania, including expanded and clearer reporting requirements and a pending effort to eliminate the statute of limitations for such crimes.
Those changes are in response not just to the circumstances of Mr. Sandusky’s crimes, but to research that has produced a better understanding of the obstacles faced by surviving victims.
Now, the Sandusky case is one in a series of high-profile cases involving an array of criminally and civilly alleged sex crimes. Most recently, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert pleaded not guilty Tuesday to alleged financial crimes underlying his alleged cover-up of a long-ago incident involving a minor. Allegations of sex crimes also have been made in recent years against Bill Cosby and reality TV personality Josh Duggar.
Such crimes usually are under state jurisdiction. Nevada increased its statute of limitations for sexual abuse allegations from four to 20 years following the Cosby allegations.
Congress should use its power of the purse to spur reforms by making federal law enforcement funding contingent upon states upgrading their reporting laws and statutes of limitations on sex crimes. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada plans to introduce such a bill; Congress should pass it.
Full article: http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/standardize-sex-crime-law-1.1896089
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-06-12 02:30:082015-06-12 02:30:08The Editorial Board, Standardize sex-crime law, The Times Tribune
Years before Brenda Tracy’s trip to Corvallis, where she told police she was brutally gang-raped by four men, there was a flannel nightgown.
She remembers it had frills on the sleeves and buttons at the neck, like something from “Little House on the Prairie.” She was wearing it, she says, the first time she was raped — at age 9.
Many details from that night are hazy, but she can picture the nightgown — and her terror, as a young man held it over her head — as plain as day.
Tracy didn’t tell her parents for about four years, in 1986. Salem police filed a report but never contacted the alleged attacker. That’s because the statute of limitations in rape cases — three years at the time — had expired.
Tracy, now 41, says that was the first time Oregon law failed her. The second was about 12 years later, after she reported that she was raped by four football players, two of whom played for Oregon State University.
Tracy shared that painful story with The Oregonian/OregonLive’s John Canzano last fall, finally emerging from years of silence and shame. Still, she wasn’t emotionally ready to talk about earlier incidents — the rape at 9 and sexual abuse at age 5. She’s still not comfortable talking about the first incident.
She decided to talk publicly about the childhood rape, however, after spending weeks lobbying state legislators to extend Oregon’s statute of limitations in rape cases to at least 20 years. Lawmakers knew about the Corvallis incident, but she decided the earlier story, too, needed to be part of the discussion.
“Five men have raped me in my lifetime, and no one has ever been held accountable,” Tracy said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive. “The only person that has ever suffered for their crimes is me.”
• • •
Like many who experience trauma, Tracy has a hard time remembering details. But she and her parents pieced together this account for police:
She was raped sometime between July 1982 and May 1983. Two things suggest it probably happened in October 1982: Her flannel nightgown indicates it wasn’t warm out, and she has a faint memory of the movie “Halloween” playing on TV.
Tracy’s parents rarely left her with a sitter, but when they did, a teenage girl would come over. That night, the sitter invited over an acquaintance who was a few years older.
Brenda brushed her teeth and went to bed.
“At some point in the night, I woke up, and when I woke up, he was standing right there,” she said.
Brenda Tracy wipes away tears as she testifies at a legislative hearing April 1, 2015, on extending Oregon’s statute of limitations in rape cases. Tracy and other sexual assault advocates are now asking the Senate to extend the statute to 20 years. Ian K. Kullgren/staff
In one menacing motion, Tracy said, he tore the covers off her bed, then pulled the flannel gown up over her head.
“It wouldn’t come off, and my arms were pinned up around my head inside my nightgown,” she said, weeping as she recounted what happened. “He held the top of my nightgown over my head so I couldn’t move, and then tore off my underwear, and I just remember feeling a lot of pain.”
He left without saying a word.
Brenda pulled her gown down and fell into a comatose sleep.
The man never came over again, but Brenda saw him around the neighborhood a couple of times.
“I knew when he looked at me I should not say anything,” she said. “I just felt this overwhelming sense that if I say anything I’m going to get hurt, because he already hurt me.”
• • •
The next few years were hard for Tracy. She convinced herself it wasn’t real — just a bad dream that happened to a different girl.
“It’s like reading a book,” she said. “It’s not you, it’s someone else, and that’s what I decided.”
But the damage manifested anyway. She developed a hearing problem, though multiple specialists concluded there was nothing physically wrong.
She finally acknowledged the attack in June 1986, after the family moved to a new Salem neighborhood. Tracy, then 12, saw a character on TV wearing a long flannel nightgown.
The memory came surging back.
Tracy’s mother, Deanna Walters, came home to find her crying alongside a neighbor girl. Brenda told her everything.
“Inside, I believe I was very angry,” Walters said. “I was not angry at Brenda at all. I was angry that it happened.”
She called the police.
“I reported it,” Walters said, “because I figured they would find this young man and arrest this young man.”
A report from Salem police dated July 11, 1986. Charges were never filed in Tracy’s rape case because the statute of limitations, at that time three years, had expired.Ian K. Kullgren/staff
She figured wrong. Salem police closed the investigation in a three-page report dated July 11, 1986. The last paragraph reads: “This incident occurred beyond the three-year statute of limitation. No prosecution is possible at this time. Suspect will not be contacted in this matter.”
A detective told Walters in a phone call.
She was stunned.
“I was very angry because it was like — somebody raped my daughter and nothing happened?” she said. “I couldn’t protect my daughter, and there’s nothing legally I could do about it.”
The detective who wrote the report has since retired, but Salem Police Department spokesman Lt. Dave Okada said officers, out of concern for the victim’s safety, sometimes won’t contact those accused of crimes if the statute of limitations has passed.
“Today, those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and welfare of the victim is a part,” Okada said. Sometimes “it’s best not to contact the suspect, based on the suspect trying to recontact the victim.”
The man named in the police report declined requests for a phone interview. In a Facebook message, he said he does not recall ever meeting Brenda and insisted he never assaulted anyone.
“I have never assaulted anyone in my life,” he wrote. “I do not know Brenda and I did not assault her … this is something I would not forget. I am sorry for her, but I am done answering questions because I am not guilty.”
The Oregonian/OregonLive is not naming the man because he was never charged.
Rape survivors who support eliminating the statute of limitations say delays in reporting rape — especially common for young victims — shouldn’t be an excuse for police not to investigate.
“We know from brain science that Brenda’s reaction, the delay of reporting is A) common, and B) doesn’t diminish its credibility,” said Meg Garvin, executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute at Lewis & Clark College. “We need corroborating evidence in almost every sexual assault case, so good investigators and good prosecutors will be looking for that, if I report tomorrow or report it in three years.”
Oregon law now allows prosecutors to file charges in rape cases involving a minor as long as they do so before the victim turns 30.
Last week, the Legislature sent a bill to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk that would extend the time limit in other cases to 12 years. Tracy and other advocates are still pushing lawmakers to extend the limit to 20 years or eliminate it altogether. Legislators are forming a work group to explore more changes in the 2016 session.
House Bill 2317
Statutes of limitations are a longstanding legal principle designed to ensure people accused of crimes receive a fair trial.
The time limit for prosecuting rape cases in Oregon is six years, but that might change soon. Last week, lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk that would extend it to 12 years. Brown hasn’t signed it yet.
The law would not apply to cases that already expired under the old time limit (for example if the Legislature extended it to 40 years, Tracy still wouldn’t be able to press charges in either of her cases).
Survivor advocates say they’ll keep pushing to extend the time limit to 20 years — or eliminate it altogether — during next year’s legislative session.
But defense attorney advocates argue extending the time limit too far would make it difficult for defendants to receive a fair trial because critical evidence, such as cell phone records and text messages, disappear over time.
Tracy was devastated when her mother told her the man wouldn’t be prosecuted.
“I felt like, even at 12, that my life is going to change,” Tracy said. “I just remember feeling like nothing is going to be done, and that’s it? We all just moved on and never talked about it.”
Tracy started acting out — hanging with the wrong crowd, skipping school and defying her parents. By September 1986, things had gotten so bad that they sent her to live with her father in Alaska.
They asked her to come to the grocery store but instead dropped her at the airport with a bag of belongings they had packed secretly. She didn’t return to Oregon until she was 17.
Seven years later, after the Corvallis attack, she knew exactly what to do: Survive by pretending you’re someone else, then report it right away.
It still didn’t work. Tracy, faltering under pressure, didn’t pursue charges, and physical evidence was destroyed. Once the six-year statute of limitations expired, Tracy lost the chance to change her mind. The men walked.
“I have been failed multiple times by this law,” she said. “It seems totally and completely unfair that this is my history.”
Full article: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/brenda_tracy_reveals_first_rap.html
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-06-12 02:27:372015-06-12 02:27:37Ian K. Kullgren, After decades of silence, Brenda Tracy reveals first rape allegation at age 9, The Oregonian/Oregon Live
The prominent rabbi of a Bronx synagogue who has been the focus of attention for having taken boys and young men to the sauna naked is negotiating a buyout and expects to reach an agreement to step down “in the near future,” his lawyer said on Thursday.
The rabbi, Jonathan Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center, anticipates a “very fair” settlement that recognizes his 30 years as the leader of the 700-member Modern Orthodox synagogue, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said in a statement.
The synagogue board told congregation members on Tuesday that it had voted to try to “achieve an amicable resolution with Rabbi Rosenblatt.”
Rabbi Rosenblatt, 58, has three years left on his contract, Mr. Brafman said. He and synagogue officials declined to say how much the rabbi’s salary is.
For at least 25 years, Rabbi Rosenblatt would take younger male members of his congregation, other young men and rabbinical interns to play squash and then to the shower and sauna where, often naked, he would engage them in long talks that he described as essential to his mentoring process.
The scrutiny arose after an article in The New York Times last month described how in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the rabbi often took boys as young as 12 to the sauna, some of whom told The Times that the rabbi made them uncomfortable by gawking at their naked bodies or touching a clothed leg during one-on-one nighttime chats.
No one has accused Rabbi Rosenblatt of sexual touching.
The synagogue’s leadership in the 1980s and 1990s knew of Rabbi Rosenblatt’s conduct but took no action at the time. Eventually, Yeshiva University elected to stop placing interns with him, and in 2011, the Rabbinical Council of America, with the synagogue’s input, had Rabbi Rosenblatt agree to stop taking congregation members to the sauna. He has abided by the agreement, the council has said.
After the Times article was published, congregation members were divided in their reactions. Competing petitions circulated. One, signed by at least 44 people, called on the rabbi to step down; another opposed any effort to buy out his contract.
Rabbi Rosenblatt sent a letter to his congregation last Thursday saying that he deeply regretted “the humiliation” that the new scrutiny caused to him and to the synagogue.
“I also deeply regret,” he wrote, “if my conduct at any time inadvertently offended anyone during my many years of service.”
The synagogue board’s vote on Monday to begin negotiating Rabbi Rosenblatt’s departure was 34 to 8, according to The Jewish Week.
“Despite the board’s vote,” Mr. Brafman said in a statement, “the vast majority of the membership have expressed overwhelming support for the rabbi, and have been openly critical of those few who elected to speak publicly about an issue the congregation has been aware of for more than 20 years.”
One longtime synagogue member said that Rabbi Rosenblatt’s departure would allow the synagogue to move forward.
“It is a sad moment,” said the member, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions within the community, “but it’s also clear that with everything that has come out in the last few weeks, it’s almost impossible to see the rabbi continuing in his current role.”
Full article http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/nyregion/bronx-rabbi-is-negotiating-buyout-and-is-expected-to-step-down.html
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-06-12 02:25:302015-06-12 02:25:30Andy Newman, Bronx Rabbi Is Negotiating Buyout and Is Expected to Step Down, NY Times
It was reported last week that State Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Catherine Nolan were drawing up a proposed constitutional amendment that could prevent the governor from making changes in the budget proposals that are submitted by the state attorney general and the state comptroller.
This development came after it was revealed in last Friday’sDaily News that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new counsel had sent surveys to 61 state agencies soliciting information about their interactions with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office.
Gianaris told the News that “As much as possible, we need to remove politics from the proper functions of government. Creating independence in the budgets of the attorney general and comptroller would be a great way to do that.”
Nolan’s reaction was that the attorney general and comptroller were both “statewide elected officials. It’s important that they have the freedom and independence to do the jobs that the people elected them to do.”
Presently, the budgets of the attorney general and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli are treated the same as other state agencies. They cannot be changed, only voted up or down.
Meanwhile, the five-page, 22-question survey that Cuomo’s counsel, Alphonso David, sent out to 61 state agencies, asks how often agency lawyers hear from the attorney general’s staff, does the AG’s staff give them enough time to review legal briefs, and what happens if the agency and the AG’s office have different legal theories on a case.
David said the survey was important to determine how the states legal problems are handled.
VALLONE, CHIN: MAYOR SHORTCHANGES SENIORS: Councilmembers Paul Vallone and Margaret Chin charged last week that Mayor de Blasio “hasn’t met the challenge to provide enough senior funding” in the FY 16 executive budget.
Last week, following the City Council’s FY 2016 executive budget hearing for the city’s Department for the Aging (DFTA), Chin, Committee on Seniors Chair, and Vallone, Subcommittee on Senior Centers chair, declared in a joint statement:
“Today’s executive budget hearing for the city’s Department for the Aging showed us once again that Mayor de Blasio and his administration have not yet shown the proper willingness and urgency to step up and support seniors in our city.
“By the year 2030, around one in five New Yorkers will be a senior – and today, one in five seniors in our city already live in poverty. Instead of responding to that need, the de Blasio administration continues to pick away at DFTA’s core funding and reverse the strides we all made for the aging population in last year’s budget.”
Chin (D–Manhattan) and Vallone (D–Bayside) continued:
“The administration has ignored our calls for $4.3 million to support senior center operations, $3 million to help 2,000 seniors on the case management waitlist, and $4.25 million to provide homecare to 500 struggling seniors on a waitlist. Furthermore, the administration has failed to include the $2 million needed to fund the Elder Abuse RFP, which would go to combat one of the most crucial issues facing our vulnerable senior population. We learned today that, instead they’re still discussing other options.”
The seniors advocates concluded: “On top of that, even while the mayor’s FY 2016 Executive Budget includes more than $4 billion in savings reserves, DFTA was forced to give back more than $3 million in ‘efficiency savings.’ Let’s call that what it is – a major cut that’s going to result in reduced services for vulnerable seniors. That’s not fair to our seniors, and it frankly makes no sense.”
In closing, Vallone and Chin warned: “Seniors can’t keep waiting for the support they need. It’s time for Mayor de Blasio to stop talking about helping seniors and start taking action by providing the funding DFTA needs to get the job done.”
ADDABBO EXPLAINS NEW BILL SITING HOMELESS SHELTERS: In last week’s Gazette (June 3), we reported that the State Senate had passed a bill which would require far more transparency and community involvement and knowledge of the facts before a homeless shelter or other social service facility could be opened in a community.
It would require the City Planning Commission to hold hearings on the matter and also approve the project under a fixed set of rules. The new bill approved by the State Senate was in response to several instances of homeless centers suddenly opening in communities where residents had no knowledge of them in advance.
This week, state Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D–Howard Beach), one of several Queens lawmakers who co-sponsored the bill, revisited it and offered comments to make its purpose clearer.
Addabbo started by noting the bill, (S. 4542), had been sponsored by Senator Jeff Klein (D–Bronx), and it “would require a far more transparent and inclusive process, with greater public notification, when homeless shelters or other social services facilities are being located in communities throughout New York City.’
Addabbo continued: “This legislation, while not avoiding or ignoring the crisis of homelessness, substance abuse, or other serious social ills in our society, does provide a necessary means for community members to be fully involved from the get-go, when homeless shelters or other social service facilities are planned for their neighborhoods.
“All too often, communities are finding that facilities are being virtually rammed down their throats, with no real thought given to whether the buildings are appropriate for the programs, whether the neighborhoods have adequate transit or other services, or whether the proposed operators have questionable track records that should be challenged.”
Addabbo, explaining the bills provisions, said: “Under the legislation, social service providers, including those operating supportive housing for the homeless, would be required to notify community boards and the City Planning Commission (CPC) within 45 to 90 days of selecting a location for a facility. The CPC would then be required to hold public hearings to gather local input on the proposed facilities, and this agency would also have the final authority, within 60 to 90 days following the hearings to approve, deny or modify the community-based programs. Community boards may also request that hearings be held within the same time frame if a provider is planning to renew its lease – permitting local input in instances where questions have been raised about the operations of the facility.”
Continuing, Addabbo said, “The fact of the matter is that we need transparency, honesty and in-depth community conversations about these programs – before they happen, not after the fact.” To make his point, he cited the “ongoing controversy about the proposed homeless shelter planned for Cooper Avenue in Glendale.
“This project appeared virtually out of thin air, with no opportunity for the community to raise legitimate concerns about the facility, the track record of the operators, or other very pertinent issues – which then fell on deaf ears when brought to the attention of city officials. We can’t let this continue to happen. It’s not about trying to keep people in need out of our neighborhoods. It’s about bringing neighborhoods together, with all the information they require, to help determine the best outcomes for these same people in need.”
Addabbo said the passage of the new legislation by Klein was also noted by Dawn Scala of the Glendale/Middle Village Coalition that has been challenging the Cooper Avenue Facility and asking for a much more comprehensive environmental review of the program. Addabbo said that Scala stated:
“Critical to ensuring the success of a homeless shelter in any neighborhood is to make sure the community is not ignored in the siting process, and providing full transparency… at the very beginning….”
CROWLEY STATEMENT RECOGNIZING IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH: Congressman Joseph Crowley (D–Queens/Bronx) Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement in recognition of Immigrant Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually during the month of June:
“America is a nation of immigrants – a fact that unites us all. As the son and grandson of Irish immigrants, my family’s story is not unlike stories you hear every day, across the country. For generations, this country has offered a better future and a better way of life to people from all corners of the world.
“I often say that immigrants are the bravest people I know – because they choose to leave behind everything and face the unknown. They do it in pursuit of the promise that America offers them.
“During Immigrant Heritage Month, let us join together to celebrate the diversity of our nation’s past, present and future.”
MALONEY OFFERS GUN VIOLENCE, GUN SAFETY BILLS: As various anti-gun groups called for action on National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney introduced two measures to address the gun violence that is escalating steadily across the nation.
Maloney said the first bill would set aside $10 million in funding each year for FY 2016 through FY 2021 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct or support research on firearm safety or gun violence prevention.
The second bill, the Handgun Trigger Safety Act, seeks to improve gun safety by ensuring that only authorized users would be able to operate handguns utilizing personalization (or “smart gun”) technology.
Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan) noted that, “on average, there are 32,000 deaths and 76,00 injuries occurring from gun violence each year in the United States.”
Both bills were co-sponsored by Senator Edward J. Markey (D–Mass.)
Maloney stated: “Some would have us believe that the laws currently on the books are sufficient to address the tens of thousands of gun related deaths that occur each year. A few extremists even oppose basic public health research to help us understand why gun violence has reached epidemic proportions. They also oppose implementing new smart gun technologies that can help reduce the tragic number of accidental shooting deaths each year, many of which have taken the lives of young children.
The majority of Americans support sensible steps to reduce the bloodshed in our streets, schools, churches, and other public spaces. The bills I am introducing with Senator Markey today would help save lives and make our communities safer.”
Continuing, Maloney said, “Due to a ban on federal funding for gun violence research that almost halted entirely gun violence research, policymakers, health care practitioners, researchers, and others lack comprehensive, scientific information about the causes and characteristics of gun violence, or the best strategies to prevent future tragedies. President Obama lifted the 17-year ban in 2013, and earlier this year, he included $10 million for gun violence research in the Department of Health and Human Services FY 2016 budget request.”
The CDC research bill is endorsed by Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Stop Handgun Violence, Third Way, the Illinois Council to prevent Gun Violence, Grandmothers Against Gun Violence, Children’s Defense Fund, Newtown Action, Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, the Brady Campaign, Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence.”
Among Senators co-sponsoring the CDC research bill are Senators Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.), Charles Schumer (D–NY), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–NY).
Maloney explained the “Handgun Trigger Safety Act would support the use of personalization (or smart gun) technology that allows the purchaser of a gun to designate authorized user(s) who can operate the gun and would make the gun inoperable for all others. Personalized handguns are already sold overseas and have been available in the United States since 2011.”
MALONEY SAID THE HANDGUN TRIGGER SAFETY ACT WOULD:
• Authorize grants to develop and improve “personalized” handgun technology to increase efficacy and decrease costs;
Mandate that, within five years of enactment, all newly manufactured handguns must be personalized, ensuring that they can only be operated by authorized users;
Mandate that, within 10 years of enactment, anyone selling a handgun must retrofit it with personalization technology before that sale can be completed; and
Provide reimbursement to manufacturers for the costs of retrofitting handguns through the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.
MARKEY SEEKS VOTE ON CHILD VICTIMS ACT: With New York ranked among the worst states in America for victims, the sponsors of the bill to completely eliminate the Statute of Limitations for child sex abuse crimes are demanding a vote before the present session ends.
Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D–Maspeth) stated in a letter to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie:
“Over recent years there has been a growing awareness across the nation of the need to act to expose this scourge. We have seen many widely publicized reports of incidents of abuse by high-profile individuals, and of cover-ups by institutions and organizations in amateur and elite sports, schools, youth programs, universities, religious and other organizations. Scientific advancement in DNA testing also makes it more possible than ever to hold perpetrators accountable.”
Markey and the 61 co-sponsors of her bill pointed out, “Rape or molestation of a child is among the very worst offenses in our society, but New York State’s outdated statute of limitations now permits pedophiles and those who hide them to evade accountability for their crimes.”
But she added, “The Child Victims Act will completely eliminate the criminal and civil statute of limitations for these offenses and it also provides a one-year civil ‘window’ that will expose abusers who have been hidden and evaded justice.”
From the victims’ standpoint, Markey noted, “There is no limit on what is a lifetime of suffering and anguish for so many victims of child sexual abuse. That is why there should be no limit on the ability of victims and society to prosecute abusers and no limit on holding accountable those institutions and organizations that have deliberately protected and hidden pedophiles.”
CLINTON CAMPAIGN KICKOFF ON ROOSEVELT ISLAND: Come this Saturday, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is scheduled to officially launch her campaign in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island. At this writing there have been no clues given out about what razzle dazzle she might be preparing. No word either how she plans to handle a conflict that’s brewing – June 13 is also scheduled for the celebration of Roosevelt Island Day.
According to Sherie Helstein, vice president of the island’s Residents Association, “months of planning for the local celebration won’t be dumped to accommodate a potential influx of Clinton fans,” she was quoted as saying in the June 2 edition of the New York Daily News. “It’s their problem to get around us… we are the community,” she said.
Other residents are also concerned there might be a problem because there are so few transit options serving the island.
From another source – The Washington Post – we’re told that Clinton will use the occasion to unveil former President Bill Clinton and daughter, Chelsea, at their first campaign appearance.
Following Roosevelt Island, Clinton will visit Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada during the following week.
MALONEY BILL REQUIRES LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR GUN OWNERS: Liability insurance for gun owners would be required for gun owners under a bill introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan). Maloney reasons: “We require insurance to own a car, but no such requirement exists for guns. The results are clear: car fatalities have declined by 25 percent in the last decade, but gun fatalities continue to rise.”
Maloney explains, “One reason is that auto insurance incentivizes precautions that reduce accidents, and make crashes less deadly. No similar incentives exist for gun owners. An insurance requirement would allow the free market to encourage cautious behavior and help save lives. Adequate liability coverage would also ensure that the victims of gun violence are fairly compensated when crimes or accidents occur.”
Maloney said “the bill would require gun buyers to have liability insurance coverage before being allowed to purchase a weapon and imposes a fine of $10,000 if an owner is found not to have the required coverage. Service members and law enforcement officers are exempt from the insurance requirement, Maloney said.
DENDEKKER OFFERS FREE PAPER SHREDDING, E-RECYCLING: A free paper shredding and e-recycling event is being offered by Assemblyman Michael DenDekker this Saturday at the Jackson Heights Shopping Center on 77th Street, between 30th and 31st Avenues in Jackson Heights.
Paper shredding will be done between 10 am and 1 pm and e-recycling from 10 am and 4 pm. Members of the community are invited to safely dispose of all paper products as well as unwanted and/or broken electronics, including: working and non-working computers, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, cell phones and PDAs. For more information, please contact DenDekker’s district office at 718 457-0384.
ADDABBO BACKS BILL MANDATING “LOTTERY FUNDS FOR EDUCATION ONLY”: State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. reports he and his senate colleagues have passed legislation (S.165) “making it absolutely clear that funds raised through the New York State Lottery can only be used to support education and not be diverted to other purposes.”
Addabbo (D–Howard Beach) explained that the Lottery provides billions of dollars for school aid every year, more than $51.6 billion for New York’s 700 school districts since it was started 48 years ago.
But Addabbo, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said “…many of my constituents are still concerned that lottery dollars may wrongly be diverted to other purposes other than education.”
However, he emphasized, “This legislation makes it absolutely clear that these dollars can only be used to benefit our students and our schools and that they cannot be commingled with other state funds.”
Addabbo also noted that “it has not been uncommon over the years for certain ‘dedicated funds’ to be raided to pay for altogether different programs when the economy takes a downturn or new initiatives are in need of support.”
As an example, he pointed to the state’s Environmental Protection Fund, which has been “robbed of approximately $500 million since its inception, with the diverted funds being spent for non-environmental purposes.”
The lawmaker also noted that the NYS Division of the Lottery provided $3.17 billion to the state’s school districts in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, with more than $1 billion of that coming to New York City. He adds NYC schools have received $19.7 billion from the Lottery since 1977. Lottery revenues generally make up roughly 15 percent of the annual school aid package statewide, he said. During the 2013-2014 fiscal year, $2.26 billion in traditional lottery revenues went to schools, along with $916 million from video gaming – such as that found at the Resorts World Racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park.
Addabbo also stated that lottery aid and its distribution are generally “a common source of confusion” for many New York residents. He says, “This is because lottery dollars are not a supplement to state education aid, but part of the entire funding package.
“If we didn’t have money from lottery sales, we would need to raise taxes, cut important state services, or otherwise find ways to replace the lottery funds that go to New York’s schools,” he said.
“Given that New York State has not yet lived up to its commitment to New York City’s schoolchildren under the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court decision, we have to make sure that not one penny of lottery funding goes astray,” he explained, adding, “The legislation approved by the Senate would help to bolster that commitment.”
The Senate’s passage of legislation to assure that state lottery funds are used only to support education in New York State would now be considered by the Assembly Education Committee, chaired by Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D–Ridgewood).
STATE SENATE VOTES TO MAKE FORCIBLE TOUCHING A FELONY ON PUBLIC TRANSIT: State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. recently joined his Senate colleagues in approving legislation that would crack down on passengers on public transportation who “forcibly touch other passengers in a sexual manner,” saying the penalty for such “abominable behavior” should be raised to a felony from a misdemeanor.
Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said the legislation was drafted after a New York State Court of Appeals decision “allowed a threetime sexual offender, who assaulted subway riders to get off without prison time.”
The lawmaker explained. “While the district attorney sought felony charges, the case was thrown out because there was no proof the victims felt threatened with violence – meaning that only a misdemeanor sex abuse charge, carrying a maximum of three months in jail, could be applied.”
Addabbo said, “This bill we passed in the Senate would raise this type of reprehensible behavior to a Class D felony, which – depending on prior criminal record – could carry a punishment ranging from probation to a maximum of seven years in prison.”
Under the proposal, these acts would now be classified as sexual abuse in the first degree.
He continued: “People who are riding subways, buses or other forms of crowded public transportation should be able to take mass transit to go to work or otherwise go about their daily lives without suffering unwanted sexual contact from strangers.”
“Hopefully,” Addabbo concluded, “these significantly higher penalties will both serve as a deterrent to this behavior and a promise that gropers and grinders will be taken off the streets and off our public transit.”
Now that the legislation has been approved by the Senate, it is under consideration by the State Assembly Committee on Codes.
MALONEY REPORT ON SS PAYMENTS TO NAZIS: Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has released details of a new report from the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General which closes the book on SS payments to former Nazis who came to live in the US after World War II.
Maloney says the new report showed this unlikely group of 133 alleged and convicted Nazis collected a total of $20.1 million in Social Security benefits as of May of this year. While the book was being closed on this chapter, a law sponsored by Maloney, called the No Social Security for Nazis Act was enacted to prevent any payments to be made to that group ever again.
“We now have a full accounting of the Social Security benefits paid to alleged and convicted Nazis, Maloney stated. “More than $20 million in benefits were paid to 133 individuals who we have reason to believe participated in the atrocities of the Holocaust.
It is outrageous that any Nazis were able to receive benefits, but this report also makes clear that the Social Security Administration lacked the legal authority to terminate benefits in far too many of these cases.
“I helped lead the effort last year to pass legislation that would end benefits for the handful of Nazis who slipped through the cracks and continued to receive benefits.”
Maloney requested the report after an Associated Press investigation estimated that millions in benefits were paid to Nazis.
Before turning to the reports findings, Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan) stated: “This report reminds us that we still live with consequences of the Holocaust and it is still our responsibility to hold those who participated in Nazi war crimes accountable. One lineups and visit crime scenes. Interns are assigned to various bureaus in the office, ranging from Intake, Gang Violence and Hate Crimes to Economic and Environmental Crimes and our Detective Bureau. They help prosecutors prepare for trial and those with accounting experience assist our forensic accounting staff. These are real life experiences that cannot be replicated in the classroom.”
The program, which began this week, attracted nearly 600 applicants. Among the interns selected for this year’s program are students from the State and City Universities of New York, as well as those from as far away as California, Louisiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Law students – from both local schools and from across the country – make up the majority of the interns.
As part of the annual program, a lecture series is set up each week for the interns at which Brown and members of his staff speak on a variety of legal topics followed by a question and answer session.
Each year internships play an important part in the professional and personal development of future assistant district attorneys. To underscore that point, Chief Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan told the summer class how, while in law school, he was undecided about his future plans until he accepted an offer of an internship with the District Attorney’s office more than 40 years ago – which set him on his career path as a prosecutor. way to do that is by providing as much information to the public as possible. This report hopefully provides some clarity and helps inform sound policy in the future.”
The report states that SSA paid $20.2 million in benefits to 133 individuals alleged, or found, to have participated in Nazi persecution. This occurred because the Social Security Act did not prohibit the payment of most of these benefits when they were paid.
The $20.2 million in benefits included $14.5 million paid to 95 beneficiaries who were not deported and $5.7 million paid to 38 beneficiaries who were deported.
Of the $20.2 million in benefits, SSA improperly paid four beneficiaries $15,658 because it did not timely suspend benefits the month after it received the final order of deportation or removal from the Department of Justice.
When the No Social Security for Nazis Act became law, four beneficiaries were affected by the new law. The IG report found that SSA properly stopped payments to four beneficiaries who were in current pay status as of January 2015.
SSA did not stop payments to one additional beneficiary who allegedly participated in Nazi persecution because he left the United States before a deportation action was filed and did not have US citizenship or a settlement agreement with DOJ. As such, the beneficiary, who lived in Germany was not subject to the provisions of the new law and received payments until SSA terminated his benefits in May 2015 because of his death in March 2015.
QUEENS BLVD. SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ADVANCE: Queens Boulevard, the “Boulevard of Death,” suddenly transformed into the “Boulevard of Life” following Queens Community Board 2’s vote last week in support of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) proposed corridor safety improvements along Queens Boulevard from Roosevelt Avenue to 73rd Street in Elmhurst.
After the meeting, DOT’s Polly Trottenberg issued the following statement:
“Community Board 2’s unanimous vote tonight is a big step toward turning Queens Boulevard into the ‘Boulevard of Life’. This investment made by the de Blasio administration will make the boulevard safer, greener and better for all users. I would like to thank the community for its support and local leaders, such as Councilman Van Bramer, for their leadership.”
STATEMENT: by State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D–Howard Beach) on TSA deficiencies and the need to invest in security:
“Whether it is at our airports or train stations, we have recently witnessed how critical it is to continue the investments of attention and funding to security measures. With JFK airport, along with the work of the TSA, and the A train line affecting my district and its residents, I remain cognizant of the fact that every level of government must remain vigilant in their respective efforts to guard against terrorism and vandalism, and protect the safety and well-being of others.”
Full article: http://www.qgazette.com/news/2015-06-10/Political_Page
An Anglican diocese in Victoria has voted to become a company so child abuse survivors will know exactly who to sue if they launch a case against the church.
Wangaratta is the third Anglican diocese in Victoria to make the decision to incorporate.
Ballarat and Bendigo have already voted to make the change and the diocese of Melbourne will vote on whether to do so in the next few weeks.
The Victorian decisions cut through debates about the legal status of Anglican and Catholic churches in sex abuse lawsuits.
David Parsons, a legal adviser to Wangaratta, said the decision to become a discrete legal entity was made at a recent meeting of the diocesan synod – the governing body – which covers 60 Anglican congregations in north-east Victoria.
Parsons said he expected the change would happen relatively quickly.
The catalyst for the change was a claim in Workcover Victoria but Bishop John Parkes told the synod meeting on 28 May its importance lay in providing child abuse survivors with an identifiable church body to sue.
He said it was clear from a consultation paper on redress and civil legislation published in January by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse that abuse survivors had difficulty identifying a correct defendant when they were dealing with religious bodies.
“The necessary outcome of any approach would seem to be that survivors should be able to sue a readily identifiable church entity that has the financial capacity to meet claims of institutional child sexual abuse,” he said.
Parkes also said it was important the Anglican church be seen to be on the front foot in responding to identified weaknesses in the child protection framework.
He referred to the Ellis defence, which had been used by the Catholic church to deter people from suing.
In that case the New South Wales court of appeal found Catholic church trustees could not be held vicariously liable for damages claimed by John Ellis who was abused by a priest in Sydney.
The court also found Ellis could not sue the then archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, because the abuse happened when his predecessor was in charge.
There has been much debate about that decision, which the Catholic church says is no longer relied on by its lawyers.
As part of its response to the royal commission the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council proposed national legislative change to require all unincorporated associations working with children to set up properly funded entities for civil proceedings.
The council’s chief executive, Francis Sullivan, said on Wednesday there were already entities within the Catholic church that could be sued, but legislative change had yet to happen.
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-06-12 02:16:482015-06-12 02:16:48Anglican diocese votes to give sex abuse survivors a clear legal entity to sue, The Guardian
Benny Forer, Debunking the Myth of Defamation in Sex Abuse Cases
/in California /by SOL ReformIn a recent statement to the Los Angeles community, Rabbinical Leaders intimated that the reporting of abuse to local law enforcement might subject the reporting party (victim or mandated reporter) to State defamation laws.
Aside from addressing many of the misstatements of law, inaccuracies about their roles, etc. it is imperative that this perspective be clarified.
California Civil Code section 47 provides for a “privileged” communication (i.e., one of immunity) where the communication was made to report a crime, or making a statement to Law Enforcement concerning a crime.
(a) In the proper discharge of an official duty.
(b) In any (1) legislative proceeding, (2) judicial proceeding, (3) in any other official proceeding authorized by law, or (4) in the initiation or course of any other proceeding authorized by law and reviewable pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except as follows:
….
(d) (1) By a fair and true report in, or a communication to, a public journal, of (A) a judicial, (B) legislative, or (C) other public official proceeding, or (D) of anything said in the course thereof, or (E) of a verified charge or complaint made by any person to a public official, upon which complaint a warrant has been issued. (2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall make privileged any communication to a public journal that does any of the following: (A) Violates Rule 5-120 of the State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct. (B) Breaches a court order. (C) Violates any requirement of confidentiality imposed by law.
What does this mean? Anyone can make a police report of abuse, and be shielded from a lawsuit for defamation. Thus, a victim that reports abuse to the police, even if the case cannot be prosecuted (because there is insufficient evidence, its not provable, or other reasons), they will be protected from any civil liability for this report.
Contrast this with making a statement to a Rabbinical Board. First, such a statement does constitute defamatory language and can subject the victim to being sued! Second, the police will maintain confidentiality until they can bring charges, whereas a Rabbinical Board will not.
Take the scenario to its logical entirety. A victim tells four rabbis she was abused. What is the next step? They obviously would never act on the victim’s word alone…right? Rather, they call in the accused and confront him. Necessarily (and by Halachic requirements) they shed the victim of her anonymity. The accused admits or denies. If he admits, the Board acts to “treat/evaluate/heal” him.
Guess what? The victim made an accusatory statement that is defamatory and not privileged. She can be sued.
In sum: you are much better off telling the police than rabbis. With the police, you will be protected from being sued. Whereas in the latter scenario the accused can sue you for defamation.
Full article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/debunking-myth-defamation-sex-abuse-cases-benny-forer
The Editorial Board, Standardize sex-crime law, The Times Tribune
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformThe Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal has resulted in several legal reforms in Pennsylvania, including expanded and clearer reporting requirements and a pending effort to eliminate the statute of limitations for such crimes.
Those changes are in response not just to the circumstances of Mr. Sandusky’s crimes, but to research that has produced a better understanding of the obstacles faced by surviving victims.
Now, the Sandusky case is one in a series of high-profile cases involving an array of criminally and civilly alleged sex crimes. Most recently, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert pleaded not guilty Tuesday to alleged financial crimes underlying his alleged cover-up of a long-ago incident involving a minor. Allegations of sex crimes also have been made in recent years against Bill Cosby and reality TV personality Josh Duggar.
Such crimes usually are under state jurisdiction. Nevada increased its statute of limitations for sexual abuse allegations from four to 20 years following the Cosby allegations.
Congress should use its power of the purse to spur reforms by making federal law enforcement funding contingent upon states upgrading their reporting laws and statutes of limitations on sex crimes. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada plans to introduce such a bill; Congress should pass it.
Full article: http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/standardize-sex-crime-law-1.1896089
Ian K. Kullgren, After decades of silence, Brenda Tracy reveals first rape allegation at age 9, The Oregonian/Oregon Live
/in Oregon /by SOL ReformYears before Brenda Tracy’s trip to Corvallis, where she told police she was brutally gang-raped by four men, there was a flannel nightgown.
She remembers it had frills on the sleeves and buttons at the neck, like something from “Little House on the Prairie.” She was wearing it, she says, the first time she was raped — at age 9.
Many details from that night are hazy, but she can picture the nightgown — and her terror, as a young man held it over her head — as plain as day.
Tracy didn’t tell her parents for about four years, in 1986. Salem police filed a report but never contacted the alleged attacker. That’s because the statute of limitations in rape cases — three years at the time — had expired.
Tracy, now 41, says that was the first time Oregon law failed her. The second was about 12 years later, after she reported that she was raped by four football players, two of whom played for Oregon State University.
Tracy shared that painful story with The Oregonian/OregonLive’s John Canzano last fall, finally emerging from years of silence and shame. Still, she wasn’t emotionally ready to talk about earlier incidents — the rape at 9 and sexual abuse at age 5. She’s still not comfortable talking about the first incident.
She decided to talk publicly about the childhood rape, however, after spending weeks lobbying state legislators to extend Oregon’s statute of limitations in rape cases to at least 20 years. Lawmakers knew about the Corvallis incident, but she decided the earlier story, too, needed to be part of the discussion.
“Five men have raped me in my lifetime, and no one has ever been held accountable,” Tracy said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive. “The only person that has ever suffered for their crimes is me.”
• • •
Like many who experience trauma, Tracy has a hard time remembering details. But she and her parents pieced together this account for police:
She was raped sometime between July 1982 and May 1983. Two things suggest it probably happened in October 1982: Her flannel nightgown indicates it wasn’t warm out, and she has a faint memory of the movie “Halloween” playing on TV.
Tracy’s parents rarely left her with a sitter, but when they did, a teenage girl would come over. That night, the sitter invited over an acquaintance who was a few years older.
Brenda brushed her teeth and went to bed.
“At some point in the night, I woke up, and when I woke up, he was standing right there,” she said.
In one menacing motion, Tracy said, he tore the covers off her bed, then pulled the flannel gown up over her head.
“It wouldn’t come off, and my arms were pinned up around my head inside my nightgown,” she said, weeping as she recounted what happened. “He held the top of my nightgown over my head so I couldn’t move, and then tore off my underwear, and I just remember feeling a lot of pain.”
He left without saying a word.
Brenda pulled her gown down and fell into a comatose sleep.
The man never came over again, but Brenda saw him around the neighborhood a couple of times.
“I knew when he looked at me I should not say anything,” she said. “I just felt this overwhelming sense that if I say anything I’m going to get hurt, because he already hurt me.”
• • •
The next few years were hard for Tracy. She convinced herself it wasn’t real — just a bad dream that happened to a different girl.
“It’s like reading a book,” she said. “It’s not you, it’s someone else, and that’s what I decided.”
But the damage manifested anyway. She developed a hearing problem, though multiple specialists concluded there was nothing physically wrong.
She finally acknowledged the attack in June 1986, after the family moved to a new Salem neighborhood. Tracy, then 12, saw a character on TV wearing a long flannel nightgown.
The memory came surging back.
Tracy’s mother, Deanna Walters, came home to find her crying alongside a neighbor girl. Brenda told her everything.
“Inside, I believe I was very angry,” Walters said. “I was not angry at Brenda at all. I was angry that it happened.”
She called the police.
“I reported it,” Walters said, “because I figured they would find this young man and arrest this young man.”
She figured wrong. Salem police closed the investigation in a three-page report dated July 11, 1986. The last paragraph reads: “This incident occurred beyond the three-year statute of limitation. No prosecution is possible at this time. Suspect will not be contacted in this matter.”
A detective told Walters in a phone call.
She was stunned.
“I was very angry because it was like — somebody raped my daughter and nothing happened?” she said. “I couldn’t protect my daughter, and there’s nothing legally I could do about it.”
The detective who wrote the report has since retired, but Salem Police Department spokesman Lt. Dave Okada said officers, out of concern for the victim’s safety, sometimes won’t contact those accused of crimes if the statute of limitations has passed.
“Today, those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and welfare of the victim is a part,” Okada said. Sometimes “it’s best not to contact the suspect, based on the suspect trying to recontact the victim.”
The man named in the police report declined requests for a phone interview. In a Facebook message, he said he does not recall ever meeting Brenda and insisted he never assaulted anyone.
“I have never assaulted anyone in my life,” he wrote. “I do not know Brenda and I did not assault her … this is something I would not forget. I am sorry for her, but I am done answering questions because I am not guilty.”
The Oregonian/OregonLive is not naming the man because he was never charged.
Rape survivors who support eliminating the statute of limitations say delays in reporting rape — especially common for young victims — shouldn’t be an excuse for police not to investigate.
“We know from brain science that Brenda’s reaction, the delay of reporting is A) common, and B) doesn’t diminish its credibility,” said Meg Garvin, executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute at Lewis & Clark College. “We need corroborating evidence in almost every sexual assault case, so good investigators and good prosecutors will be looking for that, if I report tomorrow or report it in three years.”
Oregon law now allows prosecutors to file charges in rape cases involving a minor as long as they do so before the victim turns 30.
Last week, the Legislature sent a bill to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk that would extend the time limit in other cases to 12 years. Tracy and other advocates are still pushing lawmakers to extend the limit to 20 years or eliminate it altogether. Legislators are forming a work group to explore more changes in the 2016 session.
Tracy was devastated when her mother told her the man wouldn’t be prosecuted.
“I felt like, even at 12, that my life is going to change,” Tracy said. “I just remember feeling like nothing is going to be done, and that’s it? We all just moved on and never talked about it.”
Tracy started acting out — hanging with the wrong crowd, skipping school and defying her parents. By September 1986, things had gotten so bad that they sent her to live with her father in Alaska.
They asked her to come to the grocery store but instead dropped her at the airport with a bag of belongings they had packed secretly. She didn’t return to Oregon until she was 17.
Seven years later, after the Corvallis attack, she knew exactly what to do: Survive by pretending you’re someone else, then report it right away.
It still didn’t work. Tracy, faltering under pressure, didn’t pursue charges, and physical evidence was destroyed. Once the six-year statute of limitations expired, Tracy lost the chance to change her mind. The men walked.
“I have been failed multiple times by this law,” she said. “It seems totally and completely unfair that this is my history.”
Full article: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/brenda_tracy_reveals_first_rap.html
Andy Newman, Bronx Rabbi Is Negotiating Buyout and Is Expected to Step Down, NY Times
/in New York /by SOL ReformThe prominent rabbi of a Bronx synagogue who has been the focus of attention for having taken boys and young men to the sauna naked is negotiating a buyout and expects to reach an agreement to step down “in the near future,” his lawyer said on Thursday.
The rabbi, Jonathan Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center, anticipates a “very fair” settlement that recognizes his 30 years as the leader of the 700-member Modern Orthodox synagogue, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said in a statement.
The synagogue board told congregation members on Tuesday that it had voted to try to “achieve an amicable resolution with Rabbi Rosenblatt.”
Rabbi Rosenblatt, 58, has three years left on his contract, Mr. Brafman said. He and synagogue officials declined to say how much the rabbi’s salary is.
For at least 25 years, Rabbi Rosenblatt would take younger male members of his congregation, other young men and rabbinical interns to play squash and then to the shower and sauna where, often naked, he would engage them in long talks that he described as essential to his mentoring process.
The scrutiny arose after an article in The New York Times last month described how in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the rabbi often took boys as young as 12 to the sauna, some of whom told The Times that the rabbi made them uncomfortable by gawking at their naked bodies or touching a clothed leg during one-on-one nighttime chats.
No one has accused Rabbi Rosenblatt of sexual touching.
The synagogue’s leadership in the 1980s and 1990s knew of Rabbi Rosenblatt’s conduct but took no action at the time. Eventually, Yeshiva University elected to stop placing interns with him, and in 2011, the Rabbinical Council of America, with the synagogue’s input, had Rabbi Rosenblatt agree to stop taking congregation members to the sauna. He has abided by the agreement, the council has said.
After the Times article was published, congregation members were divided in their reactions. Competing petitions circulated. One, signed by at least 44 people, called on the rabbi to step down; another opposed any effort to buy out his contract.
Rabbi Rosenblatt sent a letter to his congregation last Thursday saying that he deeply regretted “the humiliation” that the new scrutiny caused to him and to the synagogue.
“I also deeply regret,” he wrote, “if my conduct at any time inadvertently offended anyone during my many years of service.”
The synagogue board’s vote on Monday to begin negotiating Rabbi Rosenblatt’s departure was 34 to 8, according to The Jewish Week.
“Despite the board’s vote,” Mr. Brafman said in a statement, “the vast majority of the membership have expressed overwhelming support for the rabbi, and have been openly critical of those few who elected to speak publicly about an issue the congregation has been aware of for more than 20 years.”
One longtime synagogue member said that Rabbi Rosenblatt’s departure would allow the synagogue to move forward.
“It is a sad moment,” said the member, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions within the community, “but it’s also clear that with everything that has come out in the last few weeks, it’s almost impossible to see the rabbi continuing in his current role.”
Full article http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/nyregion/bronx-rabbi-is-negotiating-buyout-and-is-expected-to-step-down.html
Gianaris, Nolan React To Gov’s Snooping, Queens Gazette
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformIt was reported last week that State Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Catherine Nolan were drawing up a proposed constitutional amendment that could prevent the governor from making changes in the budget proposals that are submitted by the state attorney general and the state comptroller.
This development came after it was revealed in last Friday’sDaily News that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new counsel had sent surveys to 61 state agencies soliciting information about their interactions with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office.
Gianaris told the News that “As much as possible, we need to remove politics from the proper functions of government. Creating independence in the budgets of the attorney general and comptroller would be a great way to do that.”
Nolan’s reaction was that the attorney general and comptroller were both “statewide elected officials. It’s important that they have the freedom and independence to do the jobs that the people elected them to do.”
Presently, the budgets of the attorney general and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli are treated the same as other state agencies. They cannot be changed, only voted up or down.
Meanwhile, the five-page, 22-question survey that Cuomo’s counsel, Alphonso David, sent out to 61 state agencies, asks how often agency lawyers hear from the attorney general’s staff, does the AG’s staff give them enough time to review legal briefs, and what happens if the agency and the AG’s office have different legal theories on a case.
David said the survey was important to determine how the states legal problems are handled.
VALLONE, CHIN: MAYOR SHORTCHANGES SENIORS: Councilmembers Paul Vallone and Margaret Chin charged last week that Mayor de Blasio “hasn’t met the challenge to provide enough senior funding” in the FY 16 executive budget.
Last week, following the City Council’s FY 2016 executive budget hearing for the city’s Department for the Aging (DFTA), Chin, Committee on Seniors Chair, and Vallone, Subcommittee on Senior Centers chair, declared in a joint statement:
“Today’s executive budget hearing for the city’s Department for the Aging showed us once again that Mayor de Blasio and his administration have not yet shown the proper willingness and urgency to step up and support seniors in our city.
“By the year 2030, around one in five New Yorkers will be a senior – and today, one in five seniors in our city already live in poverty. Instead of responding to that need, the de Blasio administration continues to pick away at DFTA’s core funding and reverse the strides we all made for the aging population in last year’s budget.”
Chin (D–Manhattan) and Vallone (D–Bayside) continued:
“The administration has ignored our calls for $4.3 million to support senior center operations, $3 million to help 2,000 seniors on the case management waitlist, and $4.25 million to provide homecare to 500 struggling seniors on a waitlist. Furthermore, the administration has failed to include the $2 million needed to fund the Elder Abuse RFP, which would go to combat one of the most crucial issues facing our vulnerable senior population. We learned today that, instead they’re still discussing other options.”
The seniors advocates concluded: “On top of that, even while the mayor’s FY 2016 Executive Budget includes more than $4 billion in savings reserves, DFTA was forced to give back more than $3 million in ‘efficiency savings.’ Let’s call that what it is – a major cut that’s going to result in reduced services for vulnerable seniors. That’s not fair to our seniors, and it frankly makes no sense.”
In closing, Vallone and Chin warned: “Seniors can’t keep waiting for the support they need. It’s time for Mayor de Blasio to stop talking about helping seniors and start taking action by providing the funding DFTA needs to get the job done.”
ADDABBO EXPLAINS NEW BILL SITING HOMELESS SHELTERS: In last week’s Gazette (June 3), we reported that the State Senate had passed a bill which would require far more transparency and community involvement and knowledge of the facts before a homeless shelter or other social service facility could be opened in a community.
It would require the City Planning Commission to hold hearings on the matter and also approve the project under a fixed set of rules. The new bill approved by the State Senate was in response to several instances of homeless centers suddenly opening in communities where residents had no knowledge of them in advance.
This week, state Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D–Howard Beach), one of several Queens lawmakers who co-sponsored the bill, revisited it and offered comments to make its purpose clearer.
Addabbo started by noting the bill, (S. 4542), had been sponsored by Senator Jeff Klein (D–Bronx), and it “would require a far more transparent and inclusive process, with greater public notification, when homeless shelters or other social services facilities are being located in communities throughout New York City.’
Addabbo continued: “This legislation, while not avoiding or ignoring the crisis of homelessness, substance abuse, or other serious social ills in our society, does provide a necessary means for community members to be fully involved from the get-go, when homeless shelters or other social service facilities are planned for their neighborhoods.
“All too often, communities are finding that facilities are being virtually rammed down their throats, with no real thought given to whether the buildings are appropriate for the programs, whether the neighborhoods have adequate transit or other services, or whether the proposed operators have questionable track records that should be challenged.”
Addabbo, explaining the bills provisions, said: “Under the legislation, social service providers, including those operating supportive housing for the homeless, would be required to notify community boards and the City Planning Commission (CPC) within 45 to 90 days of selecting a location for a facility. The CPC would then be required to hold public hearings to gather local input on the proposed facilities, and this agency would also have the final authority, within 60 to 90 days following the hearings to approve, deny or modify the community-based programs. Community boards may also request that hearings be held within the same time frame if a provider is planning to renew its lease – permitting local input in instances where questions have been raised about the operations of the facility.”
Continuing, Addabbo said, “The fact of the matter is that we need transparency, honesty and in-depth community conversations about these programs – before they happen, not after the fact.” To make his point, he cited the “ongoing controversy about the proposed homeless shelter planned for Cooper Avenue in Glendale.
“This project appeared virtually out of thin air, with no opportunity for the community to raise legitimate concerns about the facility, the track record of the operators, or other very pertinent issues – which then fell on deaf ears when brought to the attention of city officials. We can’t let this continue to happen. It’s not about trying to keep people in need out of our neighborhoods. It’s about bringing neighborhoods together, with all the information they require, to help determine the best outcomes for these same people in need.”
Addabbo said the passage of the new legislation by Klein was also noted by Dawn Scala of the Glendale/Middle Village Coalition that has been challenging the Cooper Avenue Facility and asking for a much more comprehensive environmental review of the program. Addabbo said that Scala stated:
“Critical to ensuring the success of a homeless shelter in any neighborhood is to make sure the community is not ignored in the siting process, and providing full transparency… at the very beginning….”
CROWLEY STATEMENT RECOGNIZING IMMIGRANT HERITAGE MONTH: Congressman Joseph Crowley (D–Queens/Bronx) Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement in recognition of Immigrant Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually during the month of June:
“America is a nation of immigrants – a fact that unites us all. As the son and grandson of Irish immigrants, my family’s story is not unlike stories you hear every day, across the country. For generations, this country has offered a better future and a better way of life to people from all corners of the world.
“I often say that immigrants are the bravest people I know – because they choose to leave behind everything and face the unknown. They do it in pursuit of the promise that America offers them.
“During Immigrant Heritage Month, let us join together to celebrate the diversity of our nation’s past, present and future.”
MALONEY OFFERS GUN VIOLENCE, GUN SAFETY BILLS: As various anti-gun groups called for action on National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney introduced two measures to address the gun violence that is escalating steadily across the nation.
Maloney said the first bill would set aside $10 million in funding each year for FY 2016 through FY 2021 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct or support research on firearm safety or gun violence prevention.
The second bill, the Handgun Trigger Safety Act, seeks to improve gun safety by ensuring that only authorized users would be able to operate handguns utilizing personalization (or “smart gun”) technology.
Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan) noted that, “on average, there are 32,000 deaths and 76,00 injuries occurring from gun violence each year in the United States.”
Both bills were co-sponsored by Senator Edward J. Markey (D–Mass.)
Maloney stated: “Some would have us believe that the laws currently on the books are sufficient to address the tens of thousands of gun related deaths that occur each year. A few extremists even oppose basic public health research to help us understand why gun violence has reached epidemic proportions. They also oppose implementing new smart gun technologies that can help reduce the tragic number of accidental shooting deaths each year, many of which have taken the lives of young children.
The majority of Americans support sensible steps to reduce the bloodshed in our streets, schools, churches, and other public spaces. The bills I am introducing with Senator Markey today would help save lives and make our communities safer.”
Continuing, Maloney said, “Due to a ban on federal funding for gun violence research that almost halted entirely gun violence research, policymakers, health care practitioners, researchers, and others lack comprehensive, scientific information about the causes and characteristics of gun violence, or the best strategies to prevent future tragedies. President Obama lifted the 17-year ban in 2013, and earlier this year, he included $10 million for gun violence research in the Department of Health and Human Services FY 2016 budget request.”
The CDC research bill is endorsed by Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Stop Handgun Violence, Third Way, the Illinois Council to prevent Gun Violence, Grandmothers Against Gun Violence, Children’s Defense Fund, Newtown Action, Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, the Brady Campaign, Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence.”
Among Senators co-sponsoring the CDC research bill are Senators Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.), Charles Schumer (D–NY), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–NY).
Maloney explained the “Handgun Trigger Safety Act would support the use of personalization (or smart gun) technology that allows the purchaser of a gun to designate authorized user(s) who can operate the gun and would make the gun inoperable for all others. Personalized handguns are already sold overseas and have been available in the United States since 2011.”
MALONEY SAID THE HANDGUN TRIGGER SAFETY ACT WOULD:
• Authorize grants to develop and improve “personalized” handgun technology to increase efficacy and decrease costs;
Mandate that, within five years of enactment, all newly manufactured handguns must be personalized, ensuring that they can only be operated by authorized users;
Mandate that, within 10 years of enactment, anyone selling a handgun must retrofit it with personalization technology before that sale can be completed; and
Provide reimbursement to manufacturers for the costs of retrofitting handguns through the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.
MARKEY SEEKS VOTE ON CHILD VICTIMS ACT: With New York ranked among the worst states in America for victims, the sponsors of the bill to completely eliminate the Statute of Limitations for child sex abuse crimes are demanding a vote before the present session ends.
Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D–Maspeth) stated in a letter to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie:
“Over recent years there has been a growing awareness across the nation of the need to act to expose this scourge. We have seen many widely publicized reports of incidents of abuse by high-profile individuals, and of cover-ups by institutions and organizations in amateur and elite sports, schools, youth programs, universities, religious and other organizations. Scientific advancement in DNA testing also makes it more possible than ever to hold perpetrators accountable.”
Markey and the 61 co-sponsors of her bill pointed out, “Rape or molestation of a child is among the very worst offenses in our society, but New York State’s outdated statute of limitations now permits pedophiles and those who hide them to evade accountability for their crimes.”
But she added, “The Child Victims Act will completely eliminate the criminal and civil statute of limitations for these offenses and it also provides a one-year civil ‘window’ that will expose abusers who have been hidden and evaded justice.”
From the victims’ standpoint, Markey noted, “There is no limit on what is a lifetime of suffering and anguish for so many victims of child sexual abuse. That is why there should be no limit on the ability of victims and society to prosecute abusers and no limit on holding accountable those institutions and organizations that have deliberately protected and hidden pedophiles.”
CLINTON CAMPAIGN KICKOFF ON ROOSEVELT ISLAND: Come this Saturday, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is scheduled to officially launch her campaign in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island. At this writing there have been no clues given out about what razzle dazzle she might be preparing. No word either how she plans to handle a conflict that’s brewing – June 13 is also scheduled for the celebration of Roosevelt Island Day.
According to Sherie Helstein, vice president of the island’s Residents Association, “months of planning for the local celebration won’t be dumped to accommodate a potential influx of Clinton fans,” she was quoted as saying in the June 2 edition of the New York Daily News. “It’s their problem to get around us… we are the community,” she said.
Other residents are also concerned there might be a problem because there are so few transit options serving the island.
From another source – The Washington Post – we’re told that Clinton will use the occasion to unveil former President Bill Clinton and daughter, Chelsea, at their first campaign appearance.
Following Roosevelt Island, Clinton will visit Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada during the following week.
MALONEY BILL REQUIRES LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR GUN OWNERS: Liability insurance for gun owners would be required for gun owners under a bill introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan). Maloney reasons: “We require insurance to own a car, but no such requirement exists for guns. The results are clear: car fatalities have declined by 25 percent in the last decade, but gun fatalities continue to rise.”
Maloney explains, “One reason is that auto insurance incentivizes precautions that reduce accidents, and make crashes less deadly. No similar incentives exist for gun owners. An insurance requirement would allow the free market to encourage cautious behavior and help save lives. Adequate liability coverage would also ensure that the victims of gun violence are fairly compensated when crimes or accidents occur.”
Maloney said “the bill would require gun buyers to have liability insurance coverage before being allowed to purchase a weapon and imposes a fine of $10,000 if an owner is found not to have the required coverage. Service members and law enforcement officers are exempt from the insurance requirement, Maloney said.
DENDEKKER OFFERS FREE PAPER SHREDDING, E-RECYCLING: A free paper shredding and e-recycling event is being offered by Assemblyman Michael DenDekker this Saturday at the Jackson Heights Shopping Center on 77th Street, between 30th and 31st Avenues in Jackson Heights.
Paper shredding will be done between 10 am and 1 pm and e-recycling from 10 am and 4 pm. Members of the community are invited to safely dispose of all paper products as well as unwanted and/or broken electronics, including: working and non-working computers, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, cell phones and PDAs. For more information, please contact DenDekker’s district office at 718 457-0384.
ADDABBO BACKS BILL MANDATING “LOTTERY FUNDS FOR EDUCATION ONLY”: State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. reports he and his senate colleagues have passed legislation (S.165) “making it absolutely clear that funds raised through the New York State Lottery can only be used to support education and not be diverted to other purposes.”
Addabbo (D–Howard Beach) explained that the Lottery provides billions of dollars for school aid every year, more than $51.6 billion for New York’s 700 school districts since it was started 48 years ago.
But Addabbo, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said “…many of my constituents are still concerned that lottery dollars may wrongly be diverted to other purposes other than education.”
However, he emphasized, “This legislation makes it absolutely clear that these dollars can only be used to benefit our students and our schools and that they cannot be commingled with other state funds.”
Addabbo also noted that “it has not been uncommon over the years for certain ‘dedicated funds’ to be raided to pay for altogether different programs when the economy takes a downturn or new initiatives are in need of support.”
As an example, he pointed to the state’s Environmental Protection Fund, which has been “robbed of approximately $500 million since its inception, with the diverted funds being spent for non-environmental purposes.”
The lawmaker also noted that the NYS Division of the Lottery provided $3.17 billion to the state’s school districts in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, with more than $1 billion of that coming to New York City. He adds NYC schools have received $19.7 billion from the Lottery since 1977. Lottery revenues generally make up roughly 15 percent of the annual school aid package statewide, he said. During the 2013-2014 fiscal year, $2.26 billion in traditional lottery revenues went to schools, along with $916 million from video gaming – such as that found at the Resorts World Racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park.
Addabbo also stated that lottery aid and its distribution are generally “a common source of confusion” for many New York residents. He says, “This is because lottery dollars are not a supplement to state education aid, but part of the entire funding package.
“If we didn’t have money from lottery sales, we would need to raise taxes, cut important state services, or otherwise find ways to replace the lottery funds that go to New York’s schools,” he said.
“Given that New York State has not yet lived up to its commitment to New York City’s schoolchildren under the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court decision, we have to make sure that not one penny of lottery funding goes astray,” he explained, adding, “The legislation approved by the Senate would help to bolster that commitment.”
The Senate’s passage of legislation to assure that state lottery funds are used only to support education in New York State would now be considered by the Assembly Education Committee, chaired by Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D–Ridgewood).
STATE SENATE VOTES TO MAKE FORCIBLE TOUCHING A FELONY ON PUBLIC TRANSIT: State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. recently joined his Senate colleagues in approving legislation that would crack down on passengers on public transportation who “forcibly touch other passengers in a sexual manner,” saying the penalty for such “abominable behavior” should be raised to a felony from a misdemeanor.
Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said the legislation was drafted after a New York State Court of Appeals decision “allowed a threetime sexual offender, who assaulted subway riders to get off without prison time.”
The lawmaker explained. “While the district attorney sought felony charges, the case was thrown out because there was no proof the victims felt threatened with violence – meaning that only a misdemeanor sex abuse charge, carrying a maximum of three months in jail, could be applied.”
Addabbo said, “This bill we passed in the Senate would raise this type of reprehensible behavior to a Class D felony, which – depending on prior criminal record – could carry a punishment ranging from probation to a maximum of seven years in prison.”
Under the proposal, these acts would now be classified as sexual abuse in the first degree.
He continued: “People who are riding subways, buses or other forms of crowded public transportation should be able to take mass transit to go to work or otherwise go about their daily lives without suffering unwanted sexual contact from strangers.”
“Hopefully,” Addabbo concluded, “these significantly higher penalties will both serve as a deterrent to this behavior and a promise that gropers and grinders will be taken off the streets and off our public transit.”
Now that the legislation has been approved by the Senate, it is under consideration by the State Assembly Committee on Codes.
MALONEY REPORT ON SS PAYMENTS TO NAZIS: Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has released details of a new report from the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General which closes the book on SS payments to former Nazis who came to live in the US after World War II.
Maloney says the new report showed this unlikely group of 133 alleged and convicted Nazis collected a total of $20.1 million in Social Security benefits as of May of this year. While the book was being closed on this chapter, a law sponsored by Maloney, called the No Social Security for Nazis Act was enacted to prevent any payments to be made to that group ever again.
“We now have a full accounting of the Social Security benefits paid to alleged and convicted Nazis, Maloney stated. “More than $20 million in benefits were paid to 133 individuals who we have reason to believe participated in the atrocities of the Holocaust.
It is outrageous that any Nazis were able to receive benefits, but this report also makes clear that the Social Security Administration lacked the legal authority to terminate benefits in far too many of these cases.
“I helped lead the effort last year to pass legislation that would end benefits for the handful of Nazis who slipped through the cracks and continued to receive benefits.”
Maloney requested the report after an Associated Press investigation estimated that millions in benefits were paid to Nazis.
Before turning to the reports findings, Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan) stated: “This report reminds us that we still live with consequences of the Holocaust and it is still our responsibility to hold those who participated in Nazi war crimes accountable. One lineups and visit crime scenes. Interns are assigned to various bureaus in the office, ranging from Intake, Gang Violence and Hate Crimes to Economic and Environmental Crimes and our Detective Bureau. They help prosecutors prepare for trial and those with accounting experience assist our forensic accounting staff. These are real life experiences that cannot be replicated in the classroom.”
The program, which began this week, attracted nearly 600 applicants. Among the interns selected for this year’s program are students from the State and City Universities of New York, as well as those from as far away as California, Louisiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Law students – from both local schools and from across the country – make up the majority of the interns.
As part of the annual program, a lecture series is set up each week for the interns at which Brown and members of his staff speak on a variety of legal topics followed by a question and answer session.
Each year internships play an important part in the professional and personal development of future assistant district attorneys. To underscore that point, Chief Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan told the summer class how, while in law school, he was undecided about his future plans until he accepted an offer of an internship with the District Attorney’s office more than 40 years ago – which set him on his career path as a prosecutor. way to do that is by providing as much information to the public as possible. This report hopefully provides some clarity and helps inform sound policy in the future.”
The report states that SSA paid $20.2 million in benefits to 133 individuals alleged, or found, to have participated in Nazi persecution. This occurred because the Social Security Act did not prohibit the payment of most of these benefits when they were paid.
The $20.2 million in benefits included $14.5 million paid to 95 beneficiaries who were not deported and $5.7 million paid to 38 beneficiaries who were deported.
Of the $20.2 million in benefits, SSA improperly paid four beneficiaries $15,658 because it did not timely suspend benefits the month after it received the final order of deportation or removal from the Department of Justice.
When the No Social Security for Nazis Act became law, four beneficiaries were affected by the new law. The IG report found that SSA properly stopped payments to four beneficiaries who were in current pay status as of January 2015.
SSA did not stop payments to one additional beneficiary who allegedly participated in Nazi persecution because he left the United States before a deportation action was filed and did not have US citizenship or a settlement agreement with DOJ. As such, the beneficiary, who lived in Germany was not subject to the provisions of the new law and received payments until SSA terminated his benefits in May 2015 because of his death in March 2015.
The full report is available here: www.oig.ssc.gov/audits-and- investigations/audit-reports/A-09-15-50013.
QUEENS BLVD. SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ADVANCE: Queens Boulevard, the “Boulevard of Death,” suddenly transformed into the “Boulevard of Life” following Queens Community Board 2’s vote last week in support of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) proposed corridor safety improvements along Queens Boulevard from Roosevelt Avenue to 73rd Street in Elmhurst.
After the meeting, DOT’s Polly Trottenberg issued the following statement:
“Community Board 2’s unanimous vote tonight is a big step toward turning Queens Boulevard into the ‘Boulevard of Life’. This investment made by the de Blasio administration will make the boulevard safer, greener and better for all users. I would like to thank the community for its support and local leaders, such as Councilman Van Bramer, for their leadership.”
STATEMENT: by State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D–Howard Beach) on TSA deficiencies and the need to invest in security:
“Whether it is at our airports or train stations, we have recently witnessed how critical it is to continue the investments of attention and funding to security measures. With JFK airport, along with the work of the TSA, and the A train line affecting my district and its residents, I remain cognizant of the fact that every level of government must remain vigilant in their respective efforts to guard against terrorism and vandalism, and protect the safety and well-being of others.”
Full article: http://www.qgazette.com/news/2015-06-10/Political_Page
Anglican diocese votes to give sex abuse survivors a clear legal entity to sue, The Guardian
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformAn Anglican diocese in Victoria has voted to become a company so child abuse survivors will know exactly who to sue if they launch a case against the church.
Wangaratta is the third Anglican diocese in Victoria to make the decision to incorporate.
Ballarat and Bendigo have already voted to make the change and the diocese of Melbourne will vote on whether to do so in the next few weeks.
The Victorian decisions cut through debates about the legal status of Anglican and Catholic churches in sex abuse lawsuits.
David Parsons, a legal adviser to Wangaratta, said the decision to become a discrete legal entity was made at a recent meeting of the diocesan synod – the governing body – which covers 60 Anglican congregations in north-east Victoria.
Parsons said he expected the change would happen relatively quickly.
The catalyst for the change was a claim in Workcover Victoria but Bishop John Parkes told the synod meeting on 28 May its importance lay in providing child abuse survivors with an identifiable church body to sue.
He said it was clear from a consultation paper on redress and civil legislation published in January by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse that abuse survivors had difficulty identifying a correct defendant when they were dealing with religious bodies.
“The necessary outcome of any approach would seem to be that survivors should be able to sue a readily identifiable church entity that has the financial capacity to meet claims of institutional child sexual abuse,” he said.
Parkes also said it was important the Anglican church be seen to be on the front foot in responding to identified weaknesses in the child protection framework.
He referred to the Ellis defence, which had been used by the Catholic church to deter people from suing.
In that case the New South Wales court of appeal found Catholic church trustees could not be held vicariously liable for damages claimed by John Ellis who was abused by a priest in Sydney.
The court also found Ellis could not sue the then archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, because the abuse happened when his predecessor was in charge.
There has been much debate about that decision, which the Catholic church says is no longer relied on by its lawyers.
As part of its response to the royal commission the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council proposed national legislative change to require all unincorporated associations working with children to set up properly funded entities for civil proceedings.
The council’s chief executive, Francis Sullivan, said on Wednesday there were already entities within the Catholic church that could be sued, but legislative change had yet to happen.
Anglican diocese votes to give sex abuse survivors a clear legal entity to sue _ World news _ The Guardian