Publication of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Submit an Article to Atticus Members wishing to submit articles for inclusion in Atticus should submit them via email to atticus@nysacdl.org. Questions regarding submission may be directed to: Jennifer Van Ort, Executive Director, NYSACDL 518-443-2000 jlvanort@nysacdl.org The editors reserve the right to modify any submission for style, grammar, space and accuracy. Authors are requested to follow these guidelines: 1. Use footnotes rather than endnotes. 2. When a Case is mentioned in the text, its citation should be in the text as well. 3. Articles longer than 4 pages may be edited or serialized.
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Message from the President Timothy W. Hoover
NYSACDL in the Age of Pandemic Martin Adelman passed away just before this issue was finalized. Marty was a champion for his clients, the attorneys he mentored, and for this association. He was a past president, long time board member, and a founding member of NYSACDL. The entire NYSADCL family sends our condolences to his family – and to those attorneys who are who they are because of Marty. He was a force for good, and he made all of us better. Below I summarize what NYSACDL has done in response to the COVID-19 epidemic over the past two and one-half months. It is important for you to know that the work of our Association to serve you continues, and this is only a summary. But the more important and inspiring message is the one that you deliver day after day, despite the crisis. I am awed every day by the work that our members are doing to continue to zealously battle for their clients, for access to their clients, and for justice, while attending to and taking care of their families and their staffs. The Board’s two guiding principles since March 1 have been largely the same as they always have been. First, do what we can to support and enhance the practice of our members. Second, be good stewards for the organization, and strengthen it, so that we can do more of the first, in different ways. With a lot of hard work from our members, our Board, our Executive Director, and even non-members, we have held our own over the past ten weeks. In fact, I think it’s fair to say that among the myriad bar associations, we have been a leader in supporting our members, the criminal defense lawyers of this state, and even lawyers in general. When the New York State closure of businesses was announced during the week of March 16, and when the State issued guidance on Friday March 20 about which businesses were essential, there was a problem. A big one. Criminal defense lawyers were not listed. Working quickly, and ascertaining that no other state-wide bar association seemed primed to make an application, NYSACDL made an immediate request to Empire State Development to have criminal defense attorneys designated “essential.” Forty eight hours later, on Sunday March 22, we received word that our request was confirmed via the following response: “[l]aw firms and other providers of legal services are essential businesses only to the extent that their services are currently needed ... to support criminal defendants in court proceedings or individuals in emergency family court proceedings; or to participate in proceedings concerning the imminent release or detention of individuals subject to criminal or civil detention under any applicable provision of state or federal law, or proceedings to address Continued on next page
Atticus | Volume 32 Number 2 | Spring 2020 | New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
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