Assemblywoman Amy Paulin Urges Legislature to Pass Her Legislation, A.4992, after Harvey Weinstein 2020 Rape Conviction Overturned by NY Appeals Court
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(April 25, 2024) Today, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction in a 4-3 decision, concluding that “the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”
In 2020, Weinstein was convicted in New York of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree for offenses against two women. The judge in his trial allowed for the admittance of evidence of his prior sexual assaults under the Molineux Rule, which allows prosecutors to bring in proof of a defendant’s prior bad acts or crimes to establish motive, intent, or other relevant issues.
However, in February, Weinstein’s defense argued that Justice James Burke influenced the trial by allowing three women to testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case. Today, in a 4-3 decision, New York’s highest court overturned the 2020 decision and determined Weinstein had not received a fair trial.
The NY Court of Appeals is composed of seven judges, but for this case, two judges recused themselves. While it would be standard practice to allow the remaining five judges to vote, the Chief Judge appointed two new judges which provided the 4-vote majority that overturned the conviction. The three judges that voted to uphold the conviction were all permanent judges on the court.
“I am deeply disheartened by the NY Court of Appeals decision today and urge the legislature to pass my bill to allow NY courts to admit evidence that a defendant has committed any prior sexual assaults in a criminal proceeding in which a defendant is accused of sexual assault” said Assemblywoman Paulin, “we must ensure that victims are able to rely on this type of evidence in future cases.”
Assemblywoman Paulin has introduced legislation, A.4992, that would codify the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) in New York State law. Pursuant to FRE 413, the court may admit evidence that the defendant committed any other past sexual assault. Sex offenders are far more likely overall, as compared to non-sex offenders, to reoffend with a sexual crime. Sexual assault is an especially heinous crime and given the likelihood of recidivism, it is necessary to codify FRE 413. If New York enacted this legislation, we would join the sixteen other states that have adopted the FRE to protect victims of sexual assault.
“The stunning reversal of Harvey Weinstein's conviction shows a failure by New York's highest court to recognize the relevance of an abuser's pattern of serial sexual assault. It is time for New York to do what 16 other states and the Federal Rules of Evidence have done, and allow juries to hear evidence of a sexual abuser's pattern of similar conduct. We applaud Assemblywoman Amy Paulin for leading the way by introducing a bill to right this injustice,” said Jane Manning, Director of Women’s Equal Justice.
Hon. Judy Harris Kluger, Chief Executive Officer for Sanctuary for Families, said, "Sanctuary for Families and the survivors we serve are deeply troubled by the reversal of Harvey Weinstein's conviction for rape, a decision that exposes a critical gap in our legal system's response to sexual violence. Assembly Member Amy Paulin's bill, A4992, which permits the admission of evidence of the defendant’s prior sexual assaults in sexual assault prosecutions, is precisely the legislative response urgently needed to address this gap. This reform, adopted by California and fifteen other states, would help ensure that serial sex offenders are held accountable and prevented from continuing to perpetrate harm while strengthening the rights of survivors to access justice. Sanctuary for Families urges New York State lawmakers to act decisively and pass this bill.”
"We are profoundly disheartened by the Court's decision to reverse Harvey Weinstein's case. For survivors to have a chance to achieve justice, these cases should have the ability to include evidence of prior sexual assaults perpetrated by the abuser," said Robyn Mazur, Executive Director of the Joyful Heart Foundation. "Overturning this ruling and forcing survivors to endure the retraumatizing effects of another trial will also create a chilling effect on other survivors in the future."
Local Leaders Speak Out After April 13 Attack on Israel
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The drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13 elicited the following response from local leaders:
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin’s Statement Regarding Iran’s Attack On Israel
Yesterday, Israel was once again under attack.
Foremost I stand with Israel and pray that America continues to stand unequivocally with Israel as it confronts and responds to Iran’s attack.
I am also so grateful that Israel has developed the technology to keep its population safe. And I thank the American, British and Jordanian governments and pilots who served to protect Israel.
These are perilous times for Israel, the Middle East, and the world. Iran’s massive and unprecedented direct attack on Israel is a reckless and irresponsible escalation of war. We now must find a way to avert an active war with Iran, rid Hamas of power, and free the hostages.
Despite this immense challenge, I still remain hopeful. There are choices to be made at this moment, and a chance to change the current trajectory. I pray that the choices which are made provide a sustainable, peaceful future path for Israel.
Westchester Reform Temple sent out the following message on Saturday April 13, 2024
Dear WRT Family,
We write to you amidst an unprecedented attack by Iran, which has fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. We are closely monitoring the news and the threat against Israel, the full scope of which is not yet known.
We express our appreciation for the ironclad support of the US government for Israel's defense, and offer prayers of love and solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Israel, as well as to all innocent people who are now in harm's way because of Iran's dangerous and callous escalation of a war that has already exacted a heavy cost in human lives, homes and livelihoods, and emotional trauma.
We will update our WRT community as developments may necessitate.
עושה שלום במרומיו
הוא יעשה שלום עלינו
ועל כל ישראל
ואמרו אמן
Oseh Shalom Bimromav
Hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu
v'al kol Yisrael
v'imru: Amen
May the One whose peace fills the heavens
Instruct all of us in the ways of peace,
Bringing shalom to all Israel,
Amen
Bivracha - with our blessings and prayers,
Rabbi Jonathan Blake
Cantor Amanda Kleinman
Rabbi Leah Citrin
Cantor Danielle Rodnizki
Rabbi Sasha Baken
Cantor Isaac Sonett-Assor
District Announces New Mental Health Initiative
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The Board of Education meeting on Monday March 25th, wasn’t just full of talk about the budget! In the business portion of the meeting that took place after long hours of thoughtful budget discussion, administrators shared an intriguing Education Report in addition to a few other exciting announcements. The announcements included the appointments of two new principals, an upcoming PTA program, and a new partnership with the JED Foundation.
To start, Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick and Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Meghan Troy announced the appointments of two new principals in our district. First, the BOE welcomed and congratulated the current Interim Principal at Scarsdale Middle School Mr. Chris Coughlin on his appointment as the new principal at SMS. Mr. Coughlin took a moment to thank the BOE and to share that the hiring process allowed him to reflect on how amazing our students are, how world class our staff is, and how supportive our families are here in Scarsdale. He feels incredibly honored to be given the privilege of his new role at SMS.
Troy also announced that, coming to us from the Anne Hutchinson Elementary School in Eastchester, Annette Keane has been appointed as the new Edgewood Elementary School Principal. You can read more about both new principals here.
Interactive Workshop on Civil Discourse
In updates from board members, Suzie Hahn invited parents to attend a program titled, “Appropriate Discomfort: How Scarsdale's Students Learn to Engage in Civil Discourse,: on April 4 at 7 pm in the ILab on the second floor of the high school.
She explained, “In Scarsdale, we prioritize cultivating intellectually rigorous learning environments in which students actively engage multiple perspectives and have access to divergent thinking and ideas. This can be, by design, uncomfortable, especially as arguments can disrupt strongly held beliefs.”
The interactive workshop will be lead by Meredith Dutra, Media Literacy Specialist, and Edgar McIntosh, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum in which they'll demonstrate the strategies, methods, and tools that Scarsdale teachers use to have students civilly engage in complex, informed, and sometimes difficult conversations. They will discuss how these tools can be applied to classrooms, board rooms, and family discussions.
Mental Health Initiative
Before giving a Strategic Plan update, Dr. Patrick announced that along with 14 other schools nationwide, the Scarsdale School District was selected to participate in the JED Foundation’s "District Comprehensive Approach" (DCA) pilot. This transformational program will guide districts in improving systems of support for pre-K-12 students’ emotional well-being, provide powerful professional learning experiences, and develop a strategic plan for building comprehensive student mental health and suicide prevention programming. Inaugural district cohort members will be at the forefront of learning and leading powerful mental health and suicide prevention practices that will benefit both staff and students.”
Patrick explained that he is excited to partner with the JED Foundation, a non-profit organization, and to have their help in identifying emerging current mental health priorities and the best action steps to take with what we learned from our District’s recent “Belonging Survey”.
Patrick is also quoted saying, “Two of the most critical prerequisites for each student’s complete development and contribution to the community, society, and world are developing a sense of belonging and experiencing well-being. Unfortunately, the trend among youth suggests these attributes are harder to develop and maintain in today’s world, and one of the indicators of this is the increased demand for mental health care resources. We believe that the District Comprehensive Approach is a valuable tool that we can use within our community to help address these trends. Through the implementation of this approach across our schools, we can help students and their caregivers know how to access the support they need to be successful and achieve the sense of belonging and well-being they need to thrive.”
In his update about the District’s Strategic Plan, Dr. Patrick began with a reminder that part of developing a community-owned strategic plan that supports our District’s vision and mission, is gathering feedback from community stakeholders. The District started to gather feedback in November of 2023 when it hosted its first World Café with the faculty and collected thousands of comments. Then in Nov./Dec. 2023, the District held more World Cafés (2 in person, 1 on zoom) with community members and gathered hundreds of more comments. In January, 2024, they administered a Community Survey which garnered 130 respondents and over 1,000 comments.
The following slide shows the themes that emerged from the gathered feedback:
Patrick noted that the District’s partnership with the JED Foundation will help to facilitate the growth of many of the skills that were identified as emerging priorities such as Life skills, Social Skills, Social-emotional Learning, Growth Mindset, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication, and Collaboration Skills.
Also during the Education Report, Superintendent of Curriculum, Dr. Edgar McIntosh gave an inspiring presentation about Project Based Assessments. We will provide an in-depth look at this presentation in an article next week.
4.8 Earthquake Rumbles Scarsdale
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(Updated 4-6) Mother Nature is making her presence known. After high velocity winds and driving rain on Wednesday, Scarsdale was hit by an earthquake on Friday morning April 5 around 10:20 am. According to the Yonkers Police the quake was measured at 4.8 and it originated in Lebanon, New Jersey.
Initially the rumble caused some to think that winds had picked up, something had fallen on their roof or an airplane was overhead. But when it continued, the shaking sent many out into the streets to avoid potential injuries inside.
We contacted the Scarsdale Police who have not heard about any damage now. An emergency notification from Scarsdale says, “A regional earthquake just occurred with a 4.7 magnitude. At this time, the Village of Scarsdale is not aware of any hazards or earthquake-related emergencies. If you experience a gas leak or odor of natural gas, please contact 1-800-75-CONED and the Scarsdale Fire Department at 914-722-1217.
An email from Eric Rauschenbach from the Scarsdale Schools sent at 10:50 am says, "As you are aware, the area just experienced a tremor which shook the buildings. At this time all students and staff are safe. We have put the District into a hold in place to allow our facilities crew to check all of the buildings and utilities to assure there is no damage or danger. We will communicate once we have additional details or the hold in place is lifted."
Yonkers Police also say, “there is no reported structural damage or injuries in Yonkers resulting from this incident.”
Westchester County Executive George Latimer sent the following email: “Westchester County, along with the rest of the tristate area, experienced 4.7-magnitude earthquake around 10:23 a.m. according to the US Geological Survey. While we are still checking in with County Departments and municipalities, at this time we have received no reports of damage. Holtec is reporting no damage as well as ConEdison, and the electrical grid and Department of Environmental Facilities (DEF) plants. Residents should check for gas or water leaks, or any structural damage to their homes. Airport operations are continuing uninterrupted. Understandably, this is an unnerving experience, but Westchester County appears to have no ongoing emergencies due to the earthquake. While the earthquake was prolonged and noticeable, it is not dissimilar to what we have experienced in the past with other earthquakes. The Westchester County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will remain activated as a precaution, and provide updates as needed. As aftershocks are common following an earthquake, residents are advised to stay alert.”
The earthquake was felt in Manhattan and as far as Vermont and Philadelphia.
A tweet from Governor Hochul said, “A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit west of Manhattan and has been felt throughout New York. My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred and we will update the public throughout the day.”
At 6 pm that night a 4.0 magnitude aftershock hit the area and shook the walls again. This one seemed shorter but rattled windows and confidence in the earth under our feet.
Superintendent and School Board Request Community Feedback on Proposed School Budget
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(The following letter was written by Scarsdale School Superintendent Drew Patrick, School Board President Ron Schulhof and School Board Vice President Suzie Hahn.)
Dear Scarsdale Community,
We are seeking your feedback on the proposed budget for the 2024-2025 school year. We hope you will take this opportunity to review the proposed budget, which was presented during the March 11th Budget Study Session #3 and is outlined on slide 23. This year’s budget was especially challenging, given the desire to continue and expand our educational programming while managing many fiscal headwinds. We believe the proposed budget finds the appropriate balance of delivering the educational programs and services that our students deserve and that our community expects while being responsive to the fiscal realities that many school districts are facing. The proposed budget reflects an increase of 3.96% over the current year budget, and a tax levy increase of 4.39%.
On March 25th, the Board will hold a Budget Forum where the administration will review the budget process and proposed budget, the community will be invited to share their feedback, and the Board will discuss any potential budget updates in response to community feedback. The Board is then expected to vote on April 8th on the final budget to present to the community during the May 21st public budget vote.
Budget Accomplishments
As it stands, the current proposed budget continues the programs and services that we think our students deserve and that our community expects. We will continue to deliver the exceptional level of instruction provided through small class sizes at the elementary level, the house and team structure at the middle school, and vibrant programs of study at the high school. Mental health and special education staffing and resources put in place over the last several years will be continued. While the proposed reductions from the administration’s original budget will mean we have to postpone the start of some new classes and programs to the future, our students will continue to receive the highest level of education throughout their K-12 experience.
What is Driving the Budget Increases?
As with many other organizations and school districts, we are facing a number of large cost increases due to inflation, health care, and other non-discretionary expenses. The major drivers of the year to year increase in expenses are contractual salaries and wages, health and other employee benefits, retirement contributions, social security, and contractual services including education services providers and maintenance and transportation contracts. We have also increased our headcount over the past years in response to the increasing numbers and needs of students in special education, which are mandated services. Put simply, both the growth in the programs serving students and increases in the cost of goods and services have collectively created the pressure we are now experiencing.
Changes from the Administration’s Initial Budget Proposal
Initially, the administration proposed a preliminary budget on February 5 reflecting a 5.08% year to year budget increase and tax levy increase of 5.6% to fully deliver their program goals. Over the past many weeks, the administration has been responsive to the Board’s requests to seek expenditure reductions from that proposal. While the Board fully supported the educational goals in the budget, the Board believed it was prudent to consider expense reductions. The current proposal has reduced expenditures by $2 million through two tranches of reductions: (a) The first tranche of approximately $1M in reductions as discussed during the March 4th meeting, and the second tranche of approximately another $1M in reductions discussed at the March 11th meeting. It is important to note that the second tranche of reductions does impact the administration’s original list of budget goals for next year, including the deferrals of a new Financial Literacy class and an advanced math class at the high school and reducing expenditures on new safety & security items.
Community Feedback
We are now at a critically important point in the budget development process. We urge you to review the budget materials linked herein and found on our website or watch the most recent budget presentation and discussion from March 11th, and share your feedback on the proposed budget between now and Monday, March 25, 2024. You may also wish to share your input directly with us at the Budget Forum at 6:30 PM March 25th. The full budget book is also now available. Some questions you may wish to consider:
Do you have feedback about the second tranche of reductions that impact some of the original budget goals?
Are there additional items you would have liked the administration and Board to consider, either adding or removing from this year or future year budgets?
How do you feel about the level of budget and tax increase being proposed?
We encourage you to stay engaged with the conversation, and look forward to your feedback. The Board of Education and Superintendent can be emailed at boardofed@scarsdaleschools.org.
Public Vote on the Budget
As you may know, approximately 10 years ago New York State instituted a new threshold to local school district budgets which requires a 60% voter approval to approve a school budget, rather than a simple majority vote. This threshold, often referred to as the "tax cap," is the lower of 2% or inflation, adjusted for various other local factors such as capital projects. This year the threshold for Scarsdale Schools is 3.63%. Since the proposed budget results in a 4.39% tax increase, it will require a 60% approval this year to pass. It is our view that the proposed budget is in the best interest of our students and that further reductions, including the elimination of additional expenditures to bring the budget within the “tax cap,” would significantly impact the ability of the Scarsdale Schools to meet our academic goals and priorities. Some examples of further cuts to the budget would include eliminating 3-4 teaching positions and canceling all Varsity and Junior Varsity “B” teams. A full list of potential reductions needed to meet the “tax cap” is available on slides 31-34 in the March 11th presentation.
Ultimately, each School District retains local control in determining the appropriate budget to deliver the educational programming and experience desired by the community. It is our belief that the proposed budget balances the educational expectations of our students and community while respecting our fiscal responsibilities.
Sincerely,
Ron Schulhof, Board of Education President
Suzie Hahn, Board of Education Vice President
Dr. Drew Patrick, Superintendent
