NYCBA Newsletter - Vol. 5, No. 4

NYCBA Members Newsletter

Vol. 5, No. 4

January, 2008

Welcome to the January 2008 issue of our Newsletter.

President's Message:

Over the past several months our association has been playing an active role in the development of two extremely important programs that will be initiated in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District and Southern Districts of New York. The Judges for both federal districts are on the verge of implementing mentor programs which are designed to create opportunities for state court practitioners to obtain experience in federal court, with a view towards enhancing eligibility for acceptance on the Criminal Justice Act panels. While one of the primary goals of the mentoring programs in both federal districts is to increase diversity on the Criminal Justice Act panels, pariticipating in the mentor program is open to everyone. Notices will be published in the New York Law Journal, when the programs start.

We are also very interested in how our membership is responding to the new 18B guidelines for the appointment of experts and investigators and yearly maximum hours for assigned counsel. We are very interested in hearing from you concerning these measures.

Finally, as reported in greater detail below, your officers had an opportunity to meet with Judge Obus, who is about to commence his tenure as the new Administrative Judge for New York County Supreme Court. Judge Obus has many new and innovative ideas to increase the efficient operation of the courts. Our association has pledged it’s support with these new measures. Judge Obus was also extremely interested in our ideas and concerns. His appointment provides the court system with a fresh start and new leadership. It is in the interest of us all, court staff and personnel and the attorneys on both sides of the asile, to work together towards ensuring that we have an environment that results in rendering a high quality of justice each day.

Yours for a better defense,

Tony Ricco,
President
email: tonyricco@aol.com

Meeting With Judge Obus:

On January 22, 2008, representatives of the New York Criminal Bar Association met with the Hon. Michael Obus to discuss the defense bar’s role in the courthouse and Judge Obus’s vision as the incoming Administrative Judge for the New York County Supreme Court. Judge Obus was highly receptive to hearing input from our Association, and made clear his intent to maintain an open dialogue with the defense bar. Judge Obus discussed with us several changes he intended to implement in the administration of the court. First, the special narcotics cases that currently clog up the arraignment part soon be redistributed to new parts in an effort to clean up the calendars of the upfront parts as well as even out the workload of narcotics cases. It is hoped that both areas will run more smoothly once the redistribution has occurred.

Judge Obus also informed us that a new courtroom is being built on the 13^th floor of 100 Centre St. The new courtroom will have an adjoining attorney/client interview room, which is intended for use by defense attorneys during or in preparation for their appearances. The new interview room will be for defense attorney use regardless whether their appearance is to take place in the new courtroom or another courtroom.

There was also a discussion related to a possible expansion of the video conferencing system currently in place in Parts 70 and 71. Thought is being given to expanding video conferencing to other courtrooms as well, and to also expand use of video conferencing to court appearances when appropriate. This type of system is in frequent use in Brooklyn Supreme Court, but has been rarely utilized in Manhattan. No decisions have been made yet as to the extent that video conferencing will be expanded, and a continued dialogue will occur between Judge Obus and our Association on this and other issues.

Those in attendance for the meeting with Judge Obus were Anthony Ricco, Genay Leitman, Michael Bachrach, Marty Adelman and Ed Wilford. Any other member wishing to offer input into any of the areas discussed above should contact Tony, Genay or Michael to offer your thoughts and ideas so that we may present them to Judge Obus in the future.

New CJA Rates Now In EEffect

Congress recently passed, and the President signed into law on December 26, 2007, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, which includes fiscal year 2008 funding for the Judiciary. Under this statute Congress authorized and provided funds to raise the non-capital hourly CJA panel attorney compensation rate from $94 to $100, and the maximum hourly capital rate from $166 to $170 (for federal capital prosecutions and capital post-conviction proceedings). These rates apply to attorneys appointed to represent eligible persons under the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, codified in part in 18 U.S.C. § 3599. The new hourly compensation rates apply to work performed on or after January 1, 2008. Where the appointment of counsel occurred before this effective date, the new compensation rates apply to that portion of services provided on or after January 1, 2008. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact the Office of Defender Services, Legal and Policy Branch Duty Attorney, on (202) 502-3030.

Board Of Director Vacancies:

Just a reminder that anyone interested in running for membership on the Board of Directors of the New York Criminal Bar Association, may be nominated by petition in writing, signed by at least twenty-five (25) members of the Association in good standing. The petition must be delivered to the Secretary of the Association (Leonard Levenson) not later than fifteen (15) days prior to our February meeting. The February meeting will be scheduled shortly, so we recommend that anyone who is interested in running for membership on the Board notify Len at your earliest convenience. Len’s contact information is as follows: Leonard J. Levenson, 225 Broadway, Suite 1804, New York, NY 10007, tel. (212) 732-0522, fax. (212) 587-0570.

NYCBA Web Site Features:

Each month, we try to point out some of the latest resources that we have posted on our Website at www.nycrimbar.org/. In keeping with that tradition, we note the following items:

We have posted on the What's New Section of our website an interesting article entitled "Changing the Online Legal Landscape," by Robert Ambrogi, which was posted on Law Technology News on Jan. 23, 2008. For those concerned with the constantly rising costs of subscribing to WestLaw and LEXIS, we particularly note Prof. Ambrogi's comments about four new and free legal resources on the Internet - namely Public.Resource.org, Altlaw.org, Justia.com, and the ABA Journal (which, while not a new site, is now fully open to the public, whether or not you are a member of the ABA). All four of those sites are worth visting and noting as bookmarks.

What's New:

Supreme Court Upholds New York State System for Electing Judges: On January 16, 2008, the Supreme Court held that New York's system of choosing party nominees for the State Supreme Court, in which political parties select their nominees for Supreme Court Justice at a convention of delegates chosen by party members in a primary election, does not violate the First Amendment rights of prospective party candidates. The Court's decision, entitled New York State Bd. of Elections v. Torres, No. 06-766, reversed the Second Circuit's decision in Lopez Torres v. N.Y. State Bd. of Elections, 462 F.3d 161 (2nd Cir. Aug. 30, 2006) and Judge Gleeson's decision in Lopez Torres v. N.Y. State Bd. of Elections, 411 F.Supp.2d 161 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 27, 2006).
City Tightens Procedures for Assigned Counsel: "The New York City Criminal Justice Coordinator's Office has tightened procedures that lawyers appointed by judges to defend poor criminal defendants must follow in retaining expert witnesses and obtaining compensation for their work. The new procedures are in response to a probe by the Department of Investigations of an expert, Richard Gottfried, who allegedly billed the city for $61,000 for work he never performed. He also was approved as a mitigation specialist despite having been convicted of federal wire fraud and having served 20 months in New Jersey for mortgage fraud. The Department of Investigation reported in June that its investigation of Mr. Gottfried had found "significant vulnerabilities" in the way experts are approved for use by attorneys under the 18-B program, so called in reference to County Law Article 18-B, which requires localities to provide counsel for poor criminal defendants. The Investigation Department also uncovered weaknesses in the way 18-B attorneys are certified and reimbursed. Going forward, the Criminal Justice Coordinator's Office informed the 1,300 criminal defense lawyers certified to participate in the city's 18-B program, in a letter dated Dec. 28, 2007, that they will have to obtain an order from the judge presiding over their cases before retaining an expert. To obtain the order they are required to submit an explanation of why an expert is needed and the expert's curriculum vitae. The letter also informed the lawyers that anyone billing more than 2,000 hours a year will be audited and that permission must be received from both the applicable plan administrator and its advisory committee before billing more than 2,300 hours. Lawyers handling cases in the Bronx and Manhattan must obtain permission from the First Department's administrator; those in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island from the Second Department's. The Department of Investigation referred its findings concerning Mr. Gottfried to the Bronx District Attorney's Office in July 2006, and the matter remains under investigation, a spokesman for the office said yesterday. As a mitigation expert, Mr. Gottfried was hired to gather evidence to support more lenient sentences for the defendants." (As reported by Daniel Wise and published in the New York Law Journal on Jan. 16, 2008.)
GOP Senators Urge Law to Stem Rising Number of Parolees: "A committee chairman in the state Senate said yesterday that legislation is needed to "rectify" the rising numbers of inmates being paroled after serving long sentences for violent offenses. Senator Michael Nozzolio, R-Seneca Falls, said at an Albany hearing that New Yorkers are alarmed about a jump in release rates for violent A-1 offenders. Among the legislative responses he said he had in mind is requiring the Division of Parole to post the names of all A-1 or violent felony offenders facing upcoming parole hearings on its Web site so their victims can file statements with the parole board. Senator Martin J. Golden, R-Brooklyn, another member of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee chaired by Mr. Nozzolio, warned Spitzer administration officials that the more violent felony offenders that are paroled, the better the chances become that parolees will commit more violent crimes. "You can have all the risk assessments in the world," Mr. Golden said. "You only need one nut to fool you." Division of Parole Chairman George B. Alexander, Division of Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Denise E. O'Donnell and Correctional Services Commissioner Brian Fischer all told the Senate committee that they are not precisely sure why parole rates for violent A-1 offenders have increased from less than 10 percent in 2006 to more than 20 percent now. All three assured senators that parole boards were following the criteria in state law for deciding eligibility for parole and that no new pro-prisoner policy was in effect at the parole board. (As reported by Joel Stashenko and published in the New York Law Journal on Jan, 16, 2008).
Crime Victims to Learn Status of Inmates: The state Department of Correctional Services is now able to notify crime victims before an inmate comes up for parole and provide information on how victim impact statements can be filed with the Division of Parole. A new link on the agency's Web site, www.docs.state.ny.us/VictimSvc/vsoverview.html, allows victims to fill out a form so they can be automatically notified when there is a change in an inmate's status, including a furlough, entry into a work-release program, an impending parole hearing, a conditional release or a discharge. Notifications are sent by e-mail, telephone or in writing. The department said yesterday the forms will be kept confidential and will not be maintained at facilities where inmates are housed. Victims also will be informed about services available to them through the Crime Victims Board and DOCS' Office of Victim Services.

Annual Dues:

If you have not already paid your annual dues to the New York Criminal Bar Association, please do so at your earliest convenience. Payment was due on January 1, 2008.

Payment may be made by sending your check, made payable to the “New York Criminal Bar Association,” to Michael K. Bachrach, NYCBA Treasurer, 276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 501, New York, New York, 10001. Payments may also be made by faxing or emailing your credit card authorization to Mr. Bachrach at (866) 328-1630 michael@mbachlaw.com - or by submitting your credit card information online at our website.

To make your payments online, go to www.nycrimbar.org, then click on the “Events” button and follow the prompts. Alternately, if you have already logged into the Members Section of our website, simply select “Events” from the “Members Info” drop-down tab, and follow those prompts.

If you have any questions regarding membership dues please call Michael at (212) 929-0582, or email him at the above email address. A copy of our Membership Application/Renewal Form is attached to this newsletter for your convenience.

Comments and Newsletter Contributions Welcome

Comments on this and future issues of this Newsletter are most welcome, as are your own stories about cases, issues, arguments, events. etc. - whether just a sentence or a paragraph to alert us to a recent development, or a longer piece. Please send your material to Scott Tulman, Chair of the Internet and Newsletter Committee at Tel.: (212) 867-3600 or email: stulman@aol.com - or send your comments by email directly to our committee at: nycrimbar@nyc.rr.com.

Internet and Newsletter Committee:
Scott Tulman, Chair
Harvey Fishbein
Michael K. Bachrach
Peter Schmidt