Recent Highlights
Pro bono representation of Dewey R. Bozella, resulting in Mr. Bozella’s release after serving 26 years in New York state prison for a 1977 murder in Poughkeepsie, New York, a crime for which he was wrongfully convicted. Ms. Friedman took a leading role in the firm’s two-year investigation that uncovered four pieces of exculpatory evidence, all more than 30 years old, that was never disclosed by the prosecution. On October 14, 2009, state Supreme Court Justice James T. Rooney ruled that Mr. Bozella was wrongfully convicted due to the Dutchess County District Attorney’s violation of Mr. Bozella’s constitutional rights. People v. Bozella, 2009 WL 3364575 (N.Y. Co. Ct. Oct. 14, 2009); NYLJ, Oct. 22, 2009, at 1. On October 28, 2009, Mr. Bozella was released from state custody. New York Times, Oct. 29, 2009, at A-21.
Pro bono representation of Eunice Fulton in a successful appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. On December 23, 2009, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that Ms. Fulton had standing to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act on the grounds that New York’s Department of Correctional Services denied her "reasonable accommodations” to visit her incarcerated husband.