Approximately 100 attorneys completed virtual training to provide volunteer legal aid to incarcerated people appealing parole denials, through Fordham Law School’s Parole Advocacy Initiative (PAI) on Feb. 16. The initiative is a collaboration between the Parole Preparation Project, a New York City-based nonprofit that has advocated for the release of those serving long sentences, and Lincoln Square Legal Services, Inc., the clinical law office at Fordham Law. PAI’s work aims to increase access to high quality, pro bono counsel for incarcerated people who are serving indeterminate life sentences and are appealing denials of parole.
“This work has been going on for several years on more of an ad hoc basis, but now we’re expanding in order to help more incarcerated people,” said Natasha Vedananda, parole advocacy fellow and pro bono coordinator at Fordham Law. “The project is really driven by the efforts of volunteer attorneys.”
Vedananda—along with Michelle Lewin, executive director of the Parole Preparation Project, and Associate Clinical Professor of Law Martha Rayner—led the training session, providing attendees with an overview of the parole process in New York, executive law and parole regulations, the parole denial appeals process and issues, and resources available at volunteers’ fingertips (including Fordham Law’s Parole Information Project, a searchable database of unpublished judicial decisions, sample administrative appeals and Article 78s, and other documents relevant to the denial and grant of parole in New York State, and the 2022 Parole Appeals Manual). Rhiya Trivedi, criminal defense attorney at the law office of Ronald L. Kuby, also joined the conversation to discuss her longtime experience as a PAI volunteer.
The NYS Parole Process and Release Rates
According to PAI, nearly 4,900 of the 30,800 people incarcerated in New York State prisons are serving indeterminate life sentences—including 335 individuals who are serving virtual life sentences with 30+ year maximums—as of June 2021.
The Board of Parole—“in its worst years,” according to Lewin—has had release rates as low as five percent. “I think the struggle is still that parole is only granted to about 35% of people who appear before parole commissioners,” Lewin said. “While 35% may sound high, it is a tiny fraction of the amount of people who should be released, who are ready for release, and have done everything to prepare for their return home.”
In an ideal world, as Rayner explained, it should be possible to appeal a parole denial and obtain a new review before the next reappearance that happens up to two years after a denial; however, the appeals process is lengthy. The exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement causes significant delay that often risks a reappearance mooting the appellate litigation, which then could allow the Parole Board to repeat its past errors.
“Timing is so important, and that’s why it’s really necessary throughout to do all you can as the lawyer to push this process along,” Rayner said to those in attendance.
“A Real Source of Joy”
Trivedi, who has volunteered with PAI for the last four years, explained that she has taken more time to get to know the parole prep teams who are working with clients more consistently.
“Over time, it’s become a real source of joy and community for me to get to know the teams and, in some cases, parole applicants’ family members, who are often very involved in the teams and formations of the parole packets,” she said. “I’ve gotten to develop a deeper, more intimate relationship with the applicant that’s separate from litigation.”
If attorneys are interested in taking on a client through PAI, they can complete the PAI Volunteer Attorney Sign-up form to be added to PAI’s listserv and receive case referrals.