Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
QUESTION
Why does providing counsel to city employees benefit the system?
0:43:16
·
91 sec
Amy Millard explains the benefits of providing counsel to city employees, emphasizing the importance of fairness and equal representation in the legal process.
- Millard draws from her experience as a federal prosecutor and a defense lawyer to advocate for equal representation.
- She highlights the risk of unfair advantage in legal proceedings when one side lacks competent counsel.
- Millard believes the legal system functions best when both sides have access to competent, integrity-driven counsel.
- The dialogue reaffirms the principle of fairness as a foundation for providing counsel to city employees.
Adrienne E. Adams
0:43:16
Belard, much along the same lines as what the chair asked, Mister Williams, regarding provision of counsel.
0:43:24
In your written answers to a prehearing written question asking whether city employees should be provided counsel you answered that you thought doing so would benefit the process.
0:43:32
Can you explain why?
0:43:33
Sure.
0:43:33
In my experience both as a federal prosecutor
Amy Millard
0:43:37
and as a defense lawyer, but especially as a federal prosecutor.
0:43:43
I found that the system worked best when both sides had competent counsel of integrity.
0:43:54
As a prosecutor, I I found that if that in order to have the system be fair, you needed someone on the other side There is always there's the risk.
0:44:15
Not with me, but there was a risk with some.
0:44:18
That a prosecutor actually take advantage of of a prosay defendant.
0:44:24
And I found that the system is designed to work when it's fairly equal on both sides.
0:44:33
When when people have equal skills, and that's why I actually think it benefits the system.
Adrienne E. Adams
0:44:44
I would agree with you a 1000%.
0:44:47
Thank you.