NYCBA Members Newsletter

Welcome to the January 2007 issue of our Newsletter.

President's Message:

Among the avalanche of reactions to Assistant Secretary of Defense Charles “Cully” Stimson’s 1/11/07 comment--that corporate CEOs “are going to make these law firms [representing Guantanomo detainees] choose between representing terrorists or representing reliable firms”-- was this one, which you may not have seen. A major American corporate client wrote to its large law firm, saying:

Thank you for allowing people at the firm to support the rule of law by ensuring that the procedures in the handling of Guantanomo defendants (sic) are appropriate. We measure our freedom by the way rules are applied to the people we don’t like, not the one we do like. You’ll never have to worry about this company forcing you to choose between “lucrative retainers” and “defending terrorists.” (New York Law Journal, 1/18/07, p. 14).

In our continuing struggle to get the public and the media to understand “how can we represent someone who is guilty?”, it is encouraging to know that business leaders do appreciate the fundamental importance of the right to counsel and are not afraid to come to its defense, even when the clients are accused of being terrorists.

Mr. Stimson has since apologized for his remarks. Let us hope that the next politician or government official who contemplates similar remarks will recall Mr. Stimson’s experience and realize that many Americans do appreciate that defense lawyers make the rule of law a reality.

Yours for a better defense,

Henry J. Steinglass,
President (212) 406-7700
direct email: hjsteinglasslaw@earthlink.net

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, 2007. Payment may be made byby 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 or michael@mbachlaw.com.

If you have any questions regarding membership dues please call Michael at (646) 797-2776, or email him at the above email address. A copy of our Membership Application/Renewal Form is attached to this newsletter for your convenience.

NYCBA Annual Meeting On February 27, 2007:

On February 27, 2007, at 6:00 p.m., the New York Criminal Bar Association will hold its annual meeting at the federal courthouse (500 Pearl St.) in the ceremonial courtroom on the 9th floor. NYCBA members who have paid their 2007 annual dues are entitled to vote.

The Board of Directors has made the following nominations for officers and directors of the Association to be elected at this annual meeting:

Any member of the Association who is in good standing may run for election as an officer or director by submitting a petition signed by 25 members (also in good standing). The petition must be received by Leonard J. Levenson, NYCBA Secretary, at 225 Broadway, Suite 1804, New York, New York, no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 12, 2007. A member will be considered in good standing if he or she has paid the Year 2007 dues of $100 before the petition is submitted.

CLE Program On February 27, 2007 -
(Immediately After The Annual Meeting):

Starting about 6:15 p.m. , immediately following the annual meeting, there will be a CLE program on

1) recent decisions on depraved indifference murder; the speaker will be Hon. George Bundy Smith, former Associate Judge, NY Court of Appeals (one credit in the area of Professional Practice), and

2) the history of African-American judges on the Second Circuit, and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York (February is Black History month); speakers will include Hon. Sterling Johnson, U.S.D.J., (E.D.N.Y.).

The CLE program will end at approximately 8:05 p.m.

At 5:15 p.m., a reception for speakers, other judges, NYCBA members and other and attendees will he held outside the ceremonial courtroom; light refreshments will be served. There will be a $20 charge for the reception and CLE program except for NYCBA members who have paid their 2007 dues, staff of The Legal Aid Society, judges and judges’ staff.

NYCBA Committees And Areas Of Interest:

If you have not already joined a NYCBA committee or volunteered to work on an issue, CLE program, amicus brief or other project, please indicate the committee or area you are interested in on your membership renewal form or by contacting the chair/contact person listed below:

If you have already indicated the committee or area you are interested in, we will be in touch with you shortly.

Well-Attended Ethics CLE Program Held January 8, 2007:

More than 100 attorneys attended NYCBA’s ethics CLE program on January 8, 2007, organized by NYCBA Board Member Fred Sosinsky, who served as the moderator. Panel members Michael Ross, one of the leading experts in the field of professional discipline, and Maranda Fritz, addressed several important areas, including extrajudicial statements about pending cases (especially by prosecutors), the so-called "anti-contact rule", "blockading" of witnesses, fee agreements, and the new rules on attorney marketing (see the item below, “What’s New on the Internet”).

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 Legal Research section of our Website two articles of note from the Seton Hall Law Review, Vol. 34, No. 1 (2003), namely: "Tenth Anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: The Respective Roles of Trial and Appellate Courts in Daubert-Kumho Rulings," by Judge John J. Gibbons of the Third Circuit; and "The Limits on Cross-Examination," by James M. Shellow, Esq.
  
  
  
• We have posted on the Decisions section of our Website a copy of the ruling by Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the E.D.N.Y. in the case entitled U.S. v. Brennan, No. 96-CR-783 (JBW), 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89020 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 8, 2006, as amended Jan. 2, 2007). For an interesting commentary on this decision, see "Sentencing federalism: Judge Weinstein on state-federal disparity," by Prof. Doug Berman, as posted on Sentencing Law and Policy on Jan. 5, 2007; and for additional thoughts on state-federal disparity in sentencing generally, see "State-Federal Disparities and Nonguidelines Sentencing," by Michael J. Gilbert and Matthew J. Lang, New York Law Journal, Jan. 9. 2007.
  

What's New On The Internet:

• We note that, effective February 1, 2007, there are a series of new and amended Rules Governing Lawyer Advertising in New York State (and which covers attorneys' Websites) that have been posted on the Website for the New York State Unified Court System. For a summary of the most significant changes, see "N.Y. Courts Adopt Moderated Version of Lawyer Ad Rules," by John Caher, New York Law Journal, January 8, 2006; and "Appellate Divisions Release New Lawyer Advertising Rules," by Anthony E. Davis, Esq., as published in the New York Law Journal on January 22, 2007.
  
  
  
• The New York State Office of Court Administration has posted a new Application by an Eligible Offender for a Certificate of Relief. The Application consists of two pages: Page 1 requests information about date, court of sentence, and conviction; Page 2 is the Certificate itself for the Judge to sign at sentencing or any time after.
  
  
  
• Finally, we call to your attention a software package - known as RoboForm - that is both highly useful and free. RoboForm is the top-rated Password Manager and Web Form Filler that completely automates password entering and form filling. If you are tired of forgetting the multiple passwords that you use to access various sites, or of you are concerned about the growing threats to Web security, you might want to consider using this software program. It installs in minutes and locates all of the passwords on your computer and then logs you into your various sites automatically. We also recommend a recent revealing article entitled "Choosing Secure Passwords," by Bruce Schneier, which shows how easy it is for hackers to gain access to all the passwords on your computer.
  

Trials Wanted For Second-Seaters:

We continue to have a number of responses to prior newsletters items and emails about trials wanted for second-seaters; as you know, Andrea Hirsch is coordinating NYCBA efforts to match trial lawyers with second-seaters; if you have a firm trial date in a case which appears likely to go to trial, especially a short trial--federal or state--please contact her at aghirsch@rcn.com.

Professional Notices:

Comments and Newsletter Contributions Welcome:

Comments on the 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 let us know what you would like to see in the Newsletter and tell us about your own news, if you are changing firms or locations, looking for space or have space available. Please send your material to Scott Tulman, Chair of the Internet and Newsletter Committee at Tel.: (212) 867-3600 or email: stulman@tulmanlaw.com - or send your comments by email directly to our committee at: nycrimbar@nyc.rr.com.

Please Update Your Contact Information:

If you are changing your preferred email address or other contact information, please let us know so that you will continue to receive this Newsletter, NYCBA CLE notices and other information. Please send your new info to nycrimbar@nyc.rr.com

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