Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

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The race to fill the job of City Council speaker is intensifying now that the election is over. Last week's Somos el Futuro conference of Latino lawmakers in Puerto Rico became an opportuntiy for the candidates to jockey for the support of their fellow Council members. The current speaker, Christine Quinn, will be term-limited out of office after unsuccessfully running for mayor. The process of picking a speaker is a complicated process, involving the 51-member Council, special interests and, most likely, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio. The speaker has authority over which bills are brought to the floor for a vote and discretionary funding. The Council will vote for speaker at its first session in January.

New in the Gotham Gazette

Videotaping police interrogations: In the United States, false confessions play a role in about one in four wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence. The confessions often come forth following hours of interrogation, resulting in a statement of guilt put on paper in front of the investigating detectives or on videotape. But advocates have long argued that a written or videotaped confession only tells part of the story. Capturing an interrogation creates an undeniable record that ensures the veracity of confessions. By Chester Soria. READ MORE.


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