NYCBA Members Newsletter

Welcome to the October 2006 issue of our Newsletter.

President's Message:

New and old challenges and opportunities, several discussed in the September 2006 newsletter and prior issues, are facing us, including:

1. several major bar associations have expressed grave concerns about proposed new rules on attorney advertising, which implement new controls over the ways that lawyer communicate with potential clients (see New York Law Journal front-page article on 10/24/06); the proposed rules are posted at www.nycourts.gov/rules; one concern is that filing requirements for lawyer emails and websites are onerous and impractical; the comment deadline on the proposed rules is 11/15/06 and the projected effective date is 1/15/07; if you are interested in learning more about problems with these rules and/or submitting comments, please let me know as soon as possible;
   
   
   
2. the new Manhattan Integrated Domestic Violence ("IDV") court will reportedly start in January 2007; it will take misdemeanor domestic violence cases which overlap with Family Court and matrimonial proceedings; plea discussions will apparently be affected by these related, though separate, proceedings; if you would have questions about this how IDV will work, please let me know and we will try to assist you in obtaining more information;
   
   
   
3. if you have a trial date in any of your cases, especially a short trial--federal or state--please contact Andrea Hirsch (aghirsch@rcn.com), who is coordinating NYCBA efforts to match trial lawyers with second-seaters;
   
   
   
4. if you are experiencing delays or problems with your 18-b or CJA vouchers, please let me know so that NYCBA can try to help you and can also suggest systematic improvements;
   
   
   
5. your thoughts would be appreciated on the June 2006 final report of the NYS Commission on the Future of Indigent Defense, which recommended a new, state-funded "Indigent Defense Commission" with the authority to name a state-wide chief defender; see www.nycourts.gov/ip/indigentdefense-commission; and
   
   
   
6. David Feige, formerly of Bronx Defenders, has written a book entitled "Indefensible: One Lawyer's Journey into the Inferno of American Justice" (published by Little Brown & Co.), based on his experiences as a defense lawyer; as noted by Justice Emily Jane Goodman's review in the New York Law Journal 10/20/06, pg. 2, "Indefensible" refers to David Feige's view of the criminal justice system; the book, presented as a day in the life of a defense lawyer, details how harsh and elusive the process of justice can be, recounting cases of innocent defendants pleading guilty and judges who increase bail because a defense lawyer continues to argue; Justice Goodman's review notes that "Feige names names. . . . "; if you read this book, please let me know what you think of it.
   

Yours for a better defense,

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

Upcoming Events:

ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY

REMINDER!

Don't forget. Our Annual Holiday Party will be held on Tuesday evening, December 5, 2006 at SPQR Restaurant, 133 Mulberry St., New York.

This party is our winter event, and features an open bar, an Italian hot and cold buffet plus Venetian dessert table, Dixie Land Jazz by Judge Herbert Adlerberg’s “Canal Street Jazz Band”, and, of course, catching up with friends and colleagues.

The honoree this year will be Hon. Laura Ward, J.S.C., whom we will honor for her dedicatated service on the bench.

The cost of the party is $95

Payments may be made by check or credit card.  Checks should be made payable to the “New York Criminal Bar Association,” and sent to our treasurer, Michael K. Bachrach, Esq., 276 Fifth Ave., Suite 501, New York, NY 10001.

To pay by credit card, either go online and click on the button called "Events" or fax your credit card number, expiration date, and billing address to Michael K. Bachrach at (866) 328-1630.  You may also call or email him directly at (646) 797-2776 or mbach2000@yahoo.com.

For further information, contact Dinner Committee Co-Chairs Genay Ann Leitman, Esq. at (212) 687-4499 or Mathew J. Mari, Esq. at (212) 227-5335.

We look forward to seeing all of you on December 5th.

UPCOMING CLE PROGRAM - "U.S. Supreme Court - Pending and Recent Cases" - November 13, 2006

On Monday evening, November 13, 2006, the New York Criminal Bar Association and The Legal Aid Society will co-sponsor a CLE program entitled "United States Supreme Court - Pending and Recent Cases."

The speaker will be Professor Leon Friedman, of Hofstra Law School.

Two hours of New York State MCLE credit will be awarded in the area of Professional Practice. Certificates of attendance at this program will be issued by The Legal Aid Society, which is an accredited MCLE provider. The program is suitable for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.

The program will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Central Jury Room on the 15th Floor of the Criminal Courts Building, 100 Centre Street, in Manhattan. If you plan to attend, please arrive by 5:15 p.m., as MCLE rules prohibit awarding credit to late-comers.

BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOL'S ANNUAL UPDATE ON CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE UPCOMING CLE PROGRAM - December 2, 2006

Professor Robert Pitler of Brooklyn Law School is putting on his annual seminar on New York Criminal Law, Procedure and Evidence Seminar on Saturday morning, December 2, 2006. To register for this invaluable full-day program, which was not held in 2005, mail your check for $100 with your contact information to CLPE, Brooklyn Law School, 250 Joralemon St.,, Brooklyn NY 11201. The check should be made out to CLPE, Brooklyn Law School. The fee for full-time defenders is $90. The registration fee includes lunch and an outline of cases decided between November 2004 and October 2006.

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:

• On the What's New Section of our Website, we have posted a copy of an article entitled "Sentencing Guidelines - Below The Range Sentences: Appellate Review," by Alan Vinegrad and Douglas Bloom, New York Law Journal, October 17, 2006. In this article, the authors concluded, in part:

  "A review of recent below-the-range cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, however, reveals that in this circuit at least, post-Booker appellate review is effectively the same as it was pre-Feeney: absent an error of law or clearly erroneous finding of fact, such a sentence will not be overturned absent an abuse of discretion."

  
  
  
• On the Briefs & Motions section of our Website, we have posted a copy of the Sentencing Memorandum filed by Lynne Stewart prior to her sentencing on Oct. 16, 2006, her counsel's Affirmation in Support, and the Government's Redacted Sentencing Memorandum in opposition. See also "Defense Attorney Stewart gets 26 month sentence," by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, Oct. 17, 2006 and "Lawyer, Facing 30 Years, Gets 28 Months, to Dismay of U.S.," by Julia Preston, The New York Times, Oct. 17, 2006.
  
  
  
  
• On the Federal Legal Research section of our Website, we have posted a number of new items, including the following:
  
  A copy of an article entitled "Representing a Client Charged With Violating Conditions of Supervised Release - Part I," by Douglas A. Morris, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Dallas, TX, as published in the Champion Magazine, November 2006; and
  
  A link to the "Practical Guide to Taping Phone Calls and In-Person Conversations in the 50 States," a state-by-state guide published and maintained by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
  
  
  

• On the Decision section of our Website, we have posted a copy of Judge Charles Ramos' caustic 74-page decision, dated Oct. 19, 2006, in People v. Richard A. Grasso, in which he ruled that the former Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange would have to repay millions in compensation because he had failed to disclose to his fellow directors the size of his enormous compensation package. See also, "Grasso is Ordered to Repay Millions in Compensation," by Aaron Lucchetti and Joann S. Leiblau, The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 20, 2006.
  
  

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 G. Schmidt