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In 1998, the New York State Defenders Association, along with The Leagues of Women Voters of New York City, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany, conducted four hearings on public defense services and issues surrounding representation of indigent clients in New YorkState. Witnesses addressed the following categories:
- Client Representation
- Financing of Public Defense
- Managing Public Defense Programs
- Working as a Public Defense Attorney
- Relationships with Outside Entities (judiciary, county government, district attorney)
- Improving Public Defense Services in New YorkState
Specific issues included but were not limited to:
- Assigned Counsel Fees
- Independence of Public Defense Services from Political Interference
- Training and Supervision for Professional Development
- Neighborhood Representation
- Caseload Issues
- Access to Alternative to Incarceration Programs
- Representing Individuals in Prison or Under State Supervision
- Timing of Entry of Counsel in All Courts, especially Justice Courts
- Client Community Concerns
The testimony from these hearings documents the current state of public defense services in New York and will affect public policy and improve the quality of public defense representation.
The following is a complete list of witnesses who testified at the hearings in Albany, New York City, Rochester and Syracuse:
ALBANY
Tuesday, December 1, 1998
Legislative Office Building, Hearing Room C
Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York
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Jeffrey Anderson
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Criminal Justice Specialist, Rensselaer County Executive Office
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Gary Brown
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Fund for Modern Courts
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Gerard M. Damiani
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New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
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Alice Green, Ph.D.
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Executive Director , Center for Law and Justice
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Kathryn Kase
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Attorney at Law
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Ray Kelly
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Public Defense Attorney, Albany County
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Gregory Kottmeier
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Attorney at Law
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David Leven
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Prisoners' Legal Services
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David Lewis
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Lewis and Fiore, Esqs
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Gregory Lubow
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Green County Public Defender
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Mary Lynch
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Professor of Law
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Roy Neville
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Alliance for the Mentally Ill
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Bob O'Leary
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Broom County Public Defender
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Steve Pittari
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Chief Counsel & Executive Director, Westchester Legal Aid Services
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Jeffrey T. Richards
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Attorney at Law
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Tom Saitta
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Attorney at Law
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Leon Tucker
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Private Citizen
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Manny Vargas
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New York State Defenders Association
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Milton Zelermyer
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Prisoners' Rights Project, LASNYC
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NEW YORK
Wednesday, October 14, 1998
The Association of the Bar of the City of New York
42 West 44th Street,
New York, New York
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Gary Abramson
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Chief Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Orange County Inc
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Adelle Bernhard
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Criminal Defense Clinic, Pace University School of Law
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Geoffrey Chanin
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Office of the Orange County Legislature
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Michael Coleman
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New York County Defender Association
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Robert Dean
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Center for Appellate Litigation
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Lynn Fahey
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Association of the Bar of the City of New York
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Marc Gann
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Attorney at Law
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Daniel Greenberg
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Executive Director & Attorney-in-Chief, The Legal Aid Society
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Richard Greenberg
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Office of the Appellate Defender
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Andrea Hirsch
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Attorney at Law
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William Holden
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Attorney at Law
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Richard Klein
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Professor at Law, Touro Law School
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Michael Letwin
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Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325
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David Leven
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Prisoners' Legal Services of New York
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Susan Lindenauer
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Chair, Criminal Justice Section, New York State Bar Association
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Jack Litman
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Litman, Asche, and Gioiella
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Susan Menu
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Attorney at Law
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Malvina Nathanson
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Attorney at Law
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Sister Mary Nerney
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Steps to End Family Violence
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Russell Neufeld
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The Legal Aid Society, Capital Defense Unit
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Leonard Noisette
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Executive Director, Neighborhood Defender Service
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Kathleen O'Boyle
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Center for Community Alternatives
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Henry O'Brien
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Private Citizen
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Myra Rochelson
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Attorney at Law
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Lisa Schreibersdorf
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Brooklyn Defender Services
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ROCHESTER
Tuesday, October 20, 1998
The Monroe County Legislative Chambers
39 West Main Street, Rochester, New York
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M. Dolores Denman
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Presiding Justice, Appellate Division 4th Department
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Norman Effman
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Public Defender, Wyoming County; Executive Director, Attica Legal Aid Bureau
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Daniel J. Henry, Jr.,
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Villarini and Henry L.L.P.
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James S. Hinman
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Attorney at Law
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Gary A. Horton
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Public Defender, Genesee County
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Phillip Hurwitz
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Attorney at Law
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Deborah Indivino
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Attorney at Law
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John Kennedy
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Administrator, Ontario County Assigned Counsel Plan
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Joan S. Kohout
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New York State Family Court Judges Association
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Robert D. Lonski
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Administrator, Erie County Bar Assoc. Aid to Indigent Prisoners’ Society, Inc..
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Gloria Lopez
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Urban League of Rochester, New York, Inc.
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Dominic Mazza
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Livingston County Administrator
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Gary Muldoon
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Attorney at Law
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Clare Regan
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Judicial Process Commission; Public Defense Advisory Board
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Richard W. Rich, Jr.
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Public Defender, Chemung County
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David J. Saleh
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Attorney at Law
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Michael J. Tallon
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Attorney at Law
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Thomas Terrizzi
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Prisoners' Legal Services of New York
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Donald Thompson
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Attorney at Law
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Robert Zimmerman
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Attorney at Law
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Daan Zwick
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Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union
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SYRACUSE
Tuesday, November 10, 1998
Onondaga County Legislative Chambers
Syracuse, New York
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Robert Belge
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Jail Ministry
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Bill Cuddy
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Jail Ministry
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Barrie Gewanter
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New York Civil Liberties Union
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David Hayes
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President, Onondaga County Bar Association
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Bonnie Gail Levy
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Attorney at Law
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Mary Moule
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Former Public Defender, Franklin County
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Ed Nowak
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Chief Public Defender, Monroe County
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Mimi HancockOlech
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Jail Ministry
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John Parker
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Administrator, Onondaga County Assigned Counsel
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Christina Pezzulo
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Onondaga County Department of Law
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Janice Rosbrook
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Jail Ministry
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Alan Rosenthal
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Attorney at Law
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John Rowley
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Attorney at Law
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James Ryan
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Director, Madison County Probation Department
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Kate Rosenthal
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Syracuse Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
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Marsha Weissman
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Center for Community Alternatives
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The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political volunteer organization working to promote informed, active participation of citizens in their government, is especially concerned about issues that affect localities. As public defense services are funded and managed almost exclusively at the county level, the League has a particular interest in making this inquiry into the state of public defense services.
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