Defense community honors Kasperek, others

Sometimes due diligence can use an assist from luck.

That is what Rochester attorney Lawrence L. Kasperek encountered with a case he initially lost.

Kasperek’s indigent client, Raheen M. Gayden, was convicted of second-degree murder, largely based on the testimony of a prosecution witness who said she heard Gayden admit to killing 18-year-old Andre Knox in mid-September 2006.

Kasperek later learned — by fluke — the witness was a paid informant, which can raise a question of credibility. A name jumped out at him on a prosecution witness list because he had not seen her identified in any other case documents. He said he had no prior notice or written record of her being involved in the investigation.

When he asked for such statements, Kasperek was told there were none. Gayden was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

While an appeal was pending on a number of discovery issues, Kasperek was working on an unrelated case in federal court when the same witness’ name popped up as a paid informant. Researching the matter, he discovered the same witness had been paid for expenses by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office during the Gayden trial in 2008, although the trial prosecutor was not aware of the witness’ status.

Kasperek, who had asked to continue to be assigned to the Gayden case after the trial, amended his appeal to include allegations of a violation under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, which requires prosecutors to turn over information that may be favorable to a defendant.

The case eventually reached the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, which, in its Nov. 15 decision, found the individual prosecutor had a duty to learn of any favorable evidence known to others acting on the government’s behalf and granted Gayden a new trial.

Kasperek’s efforts were recognized by his colleagues Saturday when he was awarded the Jeffrey A. Jacobs Memorial Award at the 2014 Defense Community Dinner at Rochester Institute of Technology.

“Larry did not give up on it,” said Roger Brazill who chairs the Jacobs Award Committee. “He worked a long time, over six whole years and put in a lot of hours. He saved his client a substantial amount of time and really did it all by himself. It was really a case he could not let go of and toiled over it for six years.”

Gayden later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, telling Kasperek he did not trust the government enough to be tried a second time.

“He told me ‘You wouldn’t give up on me and you haven’t,’” Kasperek said. “’I trusted you with my life, but I don’t trust them. I’m going to take the plea and go home to my family.’ You can’t ask for a better payment from a client than that.”

The award, created by the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office in 2010, recognizes a criminal defense attorney who exemplifies fierce advocacy and dedication to clients, perseverance despite circumstances and a commitment to a fair justice system, all among the many qualities attributed to Jacobs, a public defender who died in 2006.

“I’ve known Larry for 25 years,” Brazill said. “I admire him greatly. He used to work in the public defender’s office many years ago, but has always been one of those people who hasn’t made the headlines as much, but is very much respected by his fellow practitioners. I think the primary thing was just his zealous advocacy on behalf of his client and his willingness to accept and to handle the more notorious or unpopular cases and clients.”

Kasperek was quick to point out he did not become a defender to receive awards. Quoting Groucho Marx, he joked that “I don’t want to be a member of a group that would have me as a member.” In all seriousness, he said he is very flattered to receive an honor in Jacobs’ name.

“Jeff was a superior attorney,” Kasperek said. “He was a friend of mine and a terrific colleague when I was at the public defender’s office. I always considered him one of the amazing mentors that I had in the office.”

He said Jacobs took on the most serious cases and was the most zealous advocate for his clients. He said he saw how Jacobs treated his clients honorably and with respect and demanded the same respect from the courts and prosecution.

“I’m just a blue collar guy,” Kasperek said. “I just try to do the best I can on behalf of my clients.”

He is part of the 60s generation that grew up with great orators like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

“I remember ‘Ask not what your country can do for you’ and ‘I have a dream,’ that kind of oratory, that kind of commitment was kind of woven into my DNA,” he said, noting he went to law school because he thought it was the best way he could help society.

Kasperek said it was the ‘60s and people were arguing for civil rights, particularly blacks, women, the disabled and other minorities. He admired William O. Douglass, an associate Supreme Court justice who died in 1980, or anybody on the Warren Court.

“The law is supposed to be the great equalizer,” Kasperek said. “Everybody is presumed innocent. The government can’t take away your liberty unless it proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The idea was that you would be of service to the people who were disadvantaged, who didn’t have the resources to defend themselves.”

Kasperek, a 1977 graduate of State University at Fredonia, previously worked for the Erie County Equal Employment Opportunity office in Buffalo, where he first advocated for disadvantaged people.

After graduating from California Western School of Law in the early 1980s, he returned east. He was admitted to the New York State bar in 1985, the same year he went to work for the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office, where he stayed for 14 and a half years before going into private practice.

“I left in 1999 because Don Thompson enticed me into believing that I could leave the public defender’s office and not only continue my commitment to criminal law, but I could support my family,” Kasperek said. “We have been partners ever since.”

They originally shared space on Exchange Street with Gary Muldoon.  Kasperek said Muldoon was one of the first people he met in Rochester and the one who encouraged him to apply to the public defender’s office where he met Janet C. Somes, who has been with the office since 1985, currently in the Appeals Bureau.

Kasperek said he and Somes are happily married and have four sons: Tyler Kasperek-Somes, 21, who works for the Service Employees International Union in New York City; Jackson, 21, a student at the University of San Diego; Clayton, a freshman at Susquehanna University; and Spencer who is in high school. Kasperek said the two older sons are considering a legal career.

Kasperek and Thompson moved to The Powers Building in 2003 and were later joined by William T. Easton and Brian Shiffrin to form Easton Thompson Kasperek Shiffrin LLP.

“These are the brightest minds and most dedicated people in the profession I’ve ever come across,” Kasperek said of his partners. “The four horsemen have been together five or six years.”

When they are not working, Kasperek and Somes enjoy spending time at their Thousand Islands cottage with their children.

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