Newly-Retired Head of Westchester Legal Aid Honored by Defenders Association

SARATOGA, NY (07/26/2011)(readMedia)-- Stephen J. Pittari, recently retired Chief Counsel and Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, was given the 2011 Service of Justice Award by the New York State Defenders Association on July 25 in Saratoga Springs.

Pittari was recognized for his dedication not only to the clients of the office where he spent his legal career but to the principle that all public defense clients should receive respect and high-quality representation.

Beginning as Associate Counsel at the Westchester County Legal Aid Society, Pittari developed a reputation as an excellent advocate, and went on to lead the office. As a Chief Defender, NYSDA member – having joined the Association in 1983 – and member of the NYSDA Board, Pittari looked beyond Westchester County and participated in many endeavors designed to improve public defense services in New York State, including efforts to secure needed state public defense funding. He has spoken powerfully about threats to "our clients" from criminal justice planning and partnerships that exclude defenders and the defense point of view.

Past recognition of Pittari's accomplishments include awards from the Columbian Lawyers Association of Westchester County (1994), the Westchester Civil Liberties Union (1993), the New York State Bar Association Criminal Justice Section (1999), the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County (2011), and NYSDA (Special Recognition Award [1999] and Wilfred R. O'Connor Award [2006]).

Others honored by the Association this year include Norman Shapiro, a private attorney practicing in Orange County and a NYSDA founding member, who also received the Service of Justice Award; Gary Horton, Genesee County Public Defender, who received the Wilfred R. O'Connor Award, which honors a public defense attorney in practice fifteen or more years who exemplifies the client-centered sense of justice, persistence, and compassion that characterized the late Bill O'Connor's life; and Heather Toole, Ulster County Assistant Public Defender, who was presented with an award created by the Genesee County Public Defender Office in memory of a young staff lawyer, Kevin M. Andersen, whose hallmarks were a sense of justice, determination, and compassion.

NYSDA, a not-for-profit, membership organization, has been providing support to New York's criminal defense community since 1967. Its mission is to improve the quality and scope of publicly supported legal representation to low income people.