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Contact: Mark Mahoney
Associate
Director, Media Services and Public Affairs
Mmahoney@nysba.org
518-487-5532
January 25, 2013
STATE BAR RECOGNIZES FIVE PROFESSIONALS FOR
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
The State Bar Association’s Criminal Justice
Section has singled out five outstanding attorneys and jurists for their
contributions to the criminal justice community in 2012.
“This year’s winners exemplify the highest standards of
excellence in serving the criminal justice community in all its many
facets,” said Section Chair Marvin E. Schechter of New York City
(Marvin E. Schechter Law Firm). “Individuals seeking justice in
our courts are fortunate to be served by such dedicated public
servants.”
This year’s honorees are:
Vincent E. Doyle, Jr. Award for Outstanding
Jurist
Hon. Theodore T. Jones (posthumously)
Jones, an associate justice on the state Court of Appeals, passed
away November 6. A former defense attorney in private practice, he also
served with The Legal Aid Society in New York City and was long
recognized for his efforts on behalf of those who traditionally have
difficulty gaining access to justice. At the time of his death, he was
co-chair of the Court of Appeals’ Justice Task Force, which
studied wrongful convictions. Jones was well known for his efforts to
promote diversity within the state judicial system.
Michele S. Maxian Award for Outstanding Public Defense
Practitioner
Daniel E. Barry, Jr.
Barry, a legendary public defender with the Legal Aid Bureau of
Buffalo in Buffalo, recently celebrated his 50th year as a public
defender with Legal Aid, during which time he has represented defendants
in more than 50,000 criminal cases.
Outstanding Prosecutor
Kristine Hamann
Hamann, executive assistant district attorney for the Special Narcotics
Prosecutor for the City of New York, is in charge of legislative issues,
community projects, information technology, administration and budget
for her office, which conducts investigations into local and
international drug trafficking that affects New York City. She is the
chair of the Best Practices Committee for the District Attorneys
Association of the State of New York, which develops best practices and
innovative strategies aimed at preventing wrongful convictions. A former
New York State inspector general, she also served as executive assistant
district attorney for nine years in the Manhattan District
Attorney’s Office.
Charles F. Crimi Memorial Award for Outstanding Private
Defense Practitioner
Thomas J. Cocuzzi
Cocuzzi is a longtime Rochester-area defense attorney who began his
career nearly 40 years ago with the Monroe County Public
Defender’s Office. For the past 34 years, he has operated his own
private criminal defense practice in Rochester, and is well known as
being a frequent adviser for other attorneys.
Outstanding Appellate Practitioner
Robert S. Dean
Dean is attorney-in-charge of the Center for Appellate Litigation in
New York City. With more than 35 years of experience as an appellate
public defender, he has also taught appellate advocacy and
post-conviction remedies at the NYU School of Law and Brooklyn Law
School. He is a principal author of “New York Pretrial Criminal
Procedure,” first and second editions.
The Criminal Justice Section recognized the honorees on January 24
during the State Bar Association’s 136th Annual Meeting in New
York City.
The New York State Bar Association, with 76,000 members, is the
largest voluntary state bar association in the country. It was founded
in 1876.
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