NOW NY President Sonia Ossorio and an attorney who works with survivors of rape have both voiced concerns that a New York Court of Appeals’ decision written by Judge Rowan Wilson in the case People v. Regan could have wide-ranging implications. 

Ossorio told Capital Tonight that the decision will embolden rapists. 

Jane Manning, director of Women’s Equal Justice, a nonprofit that helps rape victims navigate the criminal justice system, told Capital Tonight that Wilson’s opinion in the case creates a damaging new precedent that will make it much easier for rapists to get their convictions overturned.

“Prior cases in this area said the courts should give weight to whether the defendant was prejudiced by the delay and when the prosecution acted in bad faith. Neither of those was true here. And yet, Judge Wilson voted to overturn the conviction anyway,” Manning said. “This changes the standard in a way that makes it much easier to overturn a jury’s guilty verdict in a rape case.”

The case People v. Andrew J. Regan involved a first-degree rape that took place in St. Lawrence County. According to court documents, both the police agency involved and the district attorney’s office “did not take the victim’s sexual assault seriously” or “act expeditiously."

But according to Now NY’s Ossorio, the rape survivor did everything she was supposed to do, including endure a four-hour rape kit examination. 

“She did everything that we all ask of rape victims so they can get their justice. And you know? She got it. A jury of 12 New Yorkers gave it to her,” Ossorio told Capital Tonight. “But the Court of Appeals, with the opinion written by Judge Rowan Wilson, in fact he was the deciding vote on it, overturned this conviction. And now there is a rapist who’s out on the street and back in the town where they both live.”

It's a narrative that Court of Appeals Associate Judge Madeline Singas first discussed in her dissent in the case. 

“Today’s holding has disturbing echoes of our criminal justice system’s past shameful treatment of sexual assault victims and reverses recent progress aimed at assisting victims in obtaining justice," it said.

Asked about People v Regan, Rowan Wilson told the state Senate Judiciary Committee, “it’s a horrible feeling, and it’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s a function of how our legal system works.”

Critics of NOW NY’s interpretation of Wilson’s decision in the case argue its outrage should be aimed instead at the prosecution and the police agencies that bungled the case in the first place. 

But Ossorio said she and other advocates are already out there every day fighting with district attorneys and police to handle sex crimes in a more rigorous manner. 

“…but Judge Wilson and this court, they are part of the problem because they are saying that (although it was) the prosecution’s and law enforcement’s dereliction of duty, that the victim is the one who will ultimately pay the price.”

She continued.

“This Judiciary Committee should not vote on his nomination today. They should go back and read his decisions,” Ossorio stated.

Moments after speaking with Capital Tonight, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve Wilson’s nomination. 

In an emailed statement after the vote, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, chair of the committee, said in part, “After today’s hearing, I’m confident that Rowan Wilson is the best person to lead New York’s highest court during this challenging time for the judicial branch in our state and nation.”