The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Honduran native Jose Padilla in Padilla v. Kentucky today [pdf], deciding that his right to counsel was violated when his lawyer told him pleading guilty to drug possession would not lead to deportation. Previously, two convictions for drug possession were the equivalent of drug trafficking if you're not a natural born citizen, and could lead to deportation even for legal residents. The law also prohibited courts from granting any exceptions. This interpretation of the law had already been rejected by four judicial circuits, including New York's, but approved by courts in Louisiana and Texas. more ›

Governor Paterson's office says negotiations with state lawmakers on a bill to reform the Rockefeller-era drug laws are "nearing a successful completion and reflect the governor's core principle to focus on treatment rather than punishment." Yesterday's progress came on the same day that hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside Paterson's midtown office to demand the laws' full repeal. Drug law reform has been on Paterson's agenda for many years; as a State Senator in 2002 he was arrested outside the very same building, during a protest when Pataki was governor. more ›