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January 27, 2011
NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION HONORS SEVEN LEADERS
IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE WITH 2011 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
NEW YORK – The New York State Bar Association’s Criminal
Justice Section presented its Awards for Outstanding Achievement to
seven leaders who have made an outstanding contribution in the criminal
justice field.
Criminal Justice Section Awards Committee Chair Norman P. Effman of
Buffalo (executive director, Attica Legal Aid) and President-elect
Vincent E. Doyle III of Buffalo (Connors & Vilardo LLP) awarded the
2011 awards on January 27 during the State Bar Association’s
Annual Meeting at the Hilton New York in Manhattan. Abbe D. Lowell of
Washington D.C. (McDermott Will & Emery) was a guest speaker at the
event.
“Whether it is advocating to provide a better future for
at-risk children, educating the public and profession on how to prevent
wrongful convictions, or improving resources for prosecutors in their
pursuit of justice, the seven winners of the Awards for Outstanding
Achievement in Criminal Justice collectively have made important
contributions to improving the public’s understanding and
confidence in the justice system,” said James P. Subjack of
Fredonia, chair of the Criminal Justice Section. “I am pleased to
reward their extraordinary efforts, and I congratulate each winner on a
job well done.”
Award categories and recipients are:
• The Vincent E. Doyle Jr. Award for Outstanding
Jurist: Hon. Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge, United
States District, Southern District of New York, New York City. Judge
Rakoff is highly regarded for his efforts to hold banks and financial
executives accountable for their financial misdeeds, and his push for
greater transparency in the court system. Nominated to a judgeship by
President William J. Clinton on October 11, 1995, he was confirmed by
the Senate on December 29, 1995. The award was presented by Vincent E.
Doyle III, son of Vincent E. Doyle Jr.
• The Charles F. Crimi Memorial Award for Outstanding
Private Defense Practitioner: James P. Harrington, Harrington &
Mahoney, Buffalo. Harrington is one of Buffalo’s top private
defense attorneys and recognized for his work in death penalty cases. He
is a past president of the New York State Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers. He currently serves as the Criminal Justice Act
representative for the Western District of New York, representing the
interests of the attorneys accepting criminal case assignments in
federal courts.
• Outstanding Contribution to the Bar and the
Community: Hon. Phylis S. Bamberger, former justice, Supreme Court,
Bronx County. Bamberger chairs the State Bar’s Task Force on
Wrongful Convictions, whose groundbreaking report found that
identification procedures and other government practices were the two
leading causes of wrongful convictions among 53 cases examined by a
panel of experts. Under her leadership, the task force helped improve
public confidence in the justice system, raised awareness of the causes
and effects of wrongful convictions, and worked to prevent further
miscarriages of justice.
• The Michele S. Maxian Award for Outstanding Public
Defense Practitioner: Elsie Chandler, (Youth Law Project,
Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem), Harlem. Noted for her
commitment to client-centered, humanistic representation of children
accused of criminal charges, Chandler has devoted her life’s work
to children’s rights. She began her career as an elementary school
teacher and later received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, before going
to law school. She has focused her practice on juvenile justice issues.
She founded the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Offender Team in
1995, an innovative and comprehensive approach to representing teens 13
to 15 years old accused of violent offenses and charged as adults under
New York law.
• Outstanding Contribution to the Delivery of
Prosecutorial Services Award: Sean Smith, (New York Prosecutors
Training Institute), Middleburgh. Smith was cited for developing
innovative resources to assist prosecutors across the state. His
“Prosecutors’ Encyclopedia,” has transformed the way
prosecutors research, collaborate, prepare for trial and handle appeals
and other post-conviction matters. In its first three months of
operation, the Encyclopedia has attracted users from 48 states and hosts
more than 4.3 million articles.
• Outstanding Contribution to Criminal Law
Education: Joanne Macri, (director, Criminal Defense Immigration
Project, New York State Defenders Association), Albany. Macri was
recognized for conducting more than 25 workshops and seminars on
possible immigration consequences of criminal charges filed against an
immigrant. She conducted an additional 25 trainings on the meaning and
implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision of
Padilla v Kentucky, which upheld that criminal defense counsel has a
duty to provide affirmative and competent advice to a noncitizen
defendant regarding the immigration consequences of a guilty plea.
• Outstanding Contribution in the Field of
Corrections: Brian Fischer, commissioner, New York State Department
of Correctional Services Authority, Spring Valley. Since 2007, Fischer
has been commissioner of the nation’s fourth largest state prison
system. He oversees a correctional system of 30,000 employees, 67
correctional facilities, approximately 58,000 inmates, and a 900-bed
drug treatment campus for parole violators and individuals who are
sentenced by the courts to parole supervision. He has guided the
department through many challenges, including complex initiatives for
sex offenders and inmates with mental illness; successful accreditation
of every department correctional facility by the American Correctional
Association; and ensuring the safety of staff and inmates.
The 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official
statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary
state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, State Bar programs
and activities have continuously served the public and improved the
justice system for 135 years.
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