The New York state Office of Indigent Legal Services (ILS) has established new, dramatically lower, standards for the number of cases a public defense lawyer can be expected to handle. The new limits could be in effect statewide by 2023, ...

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Acting state Supreme Court Justice Richard A. Dollinger has decided that a well-educated but unemployed man facing jail time for contempt in a child custody case does not qualify for an appointed counsel because he has the potential to earn ...

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While state Supreme Court Justice Richard Dollinger is requiring a defendant, in one case, to prove that he qualifies for an appointed attorney at no cost, the Fourth Department found that the same man qualifies for an appointed counsel in ...

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Reversals in two Monroe County criminal cases are being touted by a Webster-based organization in its quest to right or prevent injustice. Both were handled by Janet C. Somes, an assistant Monroe County public defender, who has been selected by ...

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NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics Public Defender Indigent Counsel Program Joint Opinion 13-124/13-125/13-128/13-129 Background: Four judges asked about their ethical obligations in light of a new program by which the state of New York has awarded grant money to 25 ...

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The Ontario County Public Defender’s Office soon will have more of a presence in both of the cities that lie within the county’s borders. A grand opening could be held in March to officially open a satellite office in Geneva, ...

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Mediation is the next step for a case an Ontario County employee brought against the county and its former public defender. U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa, for the Western District of New York, issued an order Jan. 24, finding ...

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NYSBA Committee on Professional Ethics Public Defender Private Practice Opinion 935 Background: The inquiring attorney is an appointed public defender that has a staff including part-time and full-time assistants. The public defender created a practice policy for both the full-time ...

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The Monroe County Public Defender’s Office is one of 12 in the country that will host young attorneys in a new fellowship program designed to improve representation of indigent defendants. An initial class of 18 Public Defender Corps members ...

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Leanne Lapp is the new public defender in Ontario County. Her appointment was unanimously approved Thursday by the Ontario County Board of Supervisors. “I think it’s an outstanding appointment,” said County Administrator Geoffrey Astles.

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The county public defender should be independently selected based on merit and the appointment process should be kept out of the political arena. That is the recommendation of the Public Defender Task Force of the Monroe County Bar Association ...

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Ontario County Public Defender Thomas Kidera is leaving the office he helped create a little more than a year ago. "He retired for personal and family reasons,” said Deputy County Administrator Darlys McDonough.

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