But Mr Lawsky, who has also worked as a prosecutor, has a wider vision for the DFS.
According to Italian law, a prosecutor has a duty to pursue a case if there is evidence that criminal offenses occurred.
The controversy started when a prosecutor had a colleague, Ilhan Cihaner, arrested on Wednesday, saying he was allied with the Ergenekon network, a large and diverse group charged with trying to overthrow the Justice and Development Party government in a military coup.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has emphasized that "a prosecutor has a special duty commensurate with a prosecutor's unique power, to assure that defendants receive fair trials".
"Once a prosecutor has a case in which he or someone else has achieved a conviction where a body of people have been convinced beyond reasonable doubt someone is guilty and then sentenced them, the presumption becomes that that is a justified verdict that the prosecutor must defend," Mr. Bradley said, explaining his opposition to Mr. Morton's requests.
Beginning with the 1963 case Brady v. Maryland, the Supreme Court has made clear that a prosecutor has a duty to disclose evidence favorable to the defendant even if the defendant doesn't ask for it if the evidence is likely to change the result of the legal proceeding.
"Just as a prosecutor has a responsibility to prosecute, we have a responsibility to defend.
But when I asked Roland Acevedo, a practicing criminal defense attorney based in NYC, he told me that "a prosecutor has a responsibility to do the right thing.
"A prosecutor has a duty to administer justice," Greg Bentley wrote in a text message when I asked him about the case.
"A prosecutor has an obligation to strike hard blows, but not foul blows," Mr. Spota said at a recent meeting of the Leisure Village Democratic Club in Ridge.
Perry Carbone, a prosecutor, had argued for an 18-month sentence.
