Assemblyman Christopher Friend (R,C,I,Reg- Big Flats) today voted against the Assembly Majority efforts to eliminate New York’s double jeopardy protections which were adopted to shield citizens from excessive harassment and prosecution from the government. The legislation was brought before the Assembly in a politically motivated move to attempt to try the president and others who may or may not be convicted or maybe even pardoned for supposed crimes at the federal level.

“New York wisely adopted strong double jeopardy protections to guard New Yorkers from excessive prosecution and harassment from the government,” said Friend. “Protecting our citizens from dual sovereignty is the right thing to do here and any effort to erode this protection and other civil liberties must be rejected. It is unconscionable that the Majority politicians here are using this kind of politics to erode our civil liberties in New York. Single-party run government is proving to be dangerous for New Yorkers.”

The measure is even opposed by the New York Civil Liberties Union. The organization states in the memo of opposition the following:

Double jeopardy protections reflect the principle “that the State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him [sic] to embarrassment, expense, and ordeal and compelling him [sic] to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity . . .”