Public Defense Organization Honors NPR Correspondent Shapiro, Others

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (07/22/2014)(readMedia)-- The New York State Defenders Association (NYSDA) has presented its 2014 Service of Justice Award to Correspondent Joseph Shapiro of NPR News Investigations. The award recognized Shapiro for revealing key findings in his national report – "Guilty and Charged" – about poor people being locked up for failure to pay increasingly onerous court fees.

In the words of Jonathan E. Gradess, NYSDA's Executive Director, Shapiro's "important reporting gave public officials and the public the eye-opening conclusion that our criminal justice system fails to provide the poor with equal treatment under the law."

Tribute Paid to Public Defense Lawyers

Two lawyers were also recognized during NYSDA's 47th Annual Conference, which is being held in Saratoga. For his work with and on behalf of clients, Alan Rosenthal of The Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) in Syracuse received NYSDA's Wilfred R. O'Connor Award. Rylan Richie of the Albany County Public Defender Office received the Kevin M. Andersen Memorial Award created by the Genesee County Public Defender Office.

Rosenthal is Counsel at CCA, which is a leader in the field of community-based alternatives to incarceration, as well as Co-Director of Justice Strategies, CCA's research, training, and policy initiative. During his career, he has developed expertise in topics that include civil rights and criminal law, especially sentencing, parole, and re-entry. He has assisted countless individuals both directly and through his generous sharing of his knowledge and skill with other lawyers. His extensive writings, such as Sentencing for Dollars: The Financial Consequences of a Criminal Conviction and The Use of Criminal History Records in College Admissions Reconsidered, are reflected in the publication list on the CCA website. Rosenthal's work, in individual cases and in policy advocacy, reflects a client-centered concern.

The Wilfred R. O'Connor Award that Rosenthal received, named in honor of founding member and long-time President of NYSDA, Bill O'Connor, is presented to an attorney who has been in practice fifteen or more years, practices in the area of public defense, and exemplifies the client-centered sense of justice, persistence, and compassion that characterized Bill's life.

Rylan Richie did not wait for graduation to start representing people unable to afford counsel when representation is required by law. She interned as a law student at both the Rensselaer County and Schenectady County public defender offices. She was then hired as an Assistant Public Defender in Albany County. Her outstanding legal skills, sense of humor, and work ethic, along with her ability to acquire information about and develop valuable insight into the upbringing of clients, were noted in the nomination for the award she received on Monday.

The Kevin M. Andersen Memorial Award "is presented to an attorney who has been in practice less than fifteen years, practices in the area of indigent defense, and exemplifies the sense of justice, determination, and compassion" that were the hallmarks of its namesake. Kevin M. Andersen was a lifelong public defender known for his anger at injustice, his will to fight ferociously for his clients, and the compassion to grant clients "the dignity each deserved as a human being despite whatever human frailties they might present."

Keynote Speaker

The keynote speaker at the Awards Banquet, Andrea C. James, spoke about "Advocacy from the Inside," sharing her experiences as both a former defender and client within the criminal justice system. Hearing from someone who has been in both roles reinforced for conferees the importance of understanding clients' circumstances. Offering moving descriptions of women serving long, mandatory sentences for first-time federal drug offenses, far away from children they continue to love and strive to nurture, James renewed her pledge to them that they would not be forgotten. As Executive Director of Families for Justice as Healing, in Boston, MA, James works tirelessly to end the harsh, injust punishment she witnessed firsthand.

The awards event occurred on the evening between two full days of continuing legal education (CLE). NYSDA provides affordable, high-quality CLE relevant to public defense practice at statewide as well as regional events as part of its mission. A not-for-profit, membership organization, NYSDA has been providing support to New York's public defense community since 1967. Its mission is to improve the quality and scope of publicly supported legal representation to low income people.