Is Our Federal Judiciary Being Dismantled by Congress?

Here is a video with testimony before the U.S. Senate of the Hon. Julia S. Gibbons, Federal Defender Michael Nachmanoff, and West Allen, Chair of the Government Relations Committee of the Federal Bar Association.  I serve with West Allen on the FBA's Government Relations Committee and have been part of the FBA's efforts to educate Congress on the impacts of sequestration on the administration of justice.   As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the U.S. Supreme Court case that interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to oblige states to provide counsel to the indigent, making the right to counsel a reality for every American, Congress has, in implementing sequestration, defunded this constitutionally-obligated protection.  The reality is that if criminal trials get gummed up because the accused have no counsel, federal judges are not available to hear civil cases that impact justice for private individuals and corporations.  If justice is not prompt and available from U.S. courts, justice has been denied.  Leaving commercial and bankruptcy disputes in limbo negatively impacts American competitiveness by crippling business and investment.   If these issues are important to you, please consider joining the Federal Bar Association, the premier bar association for the federal practitioner.  Any American who cares about the administration of justice ought to watch this video.




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 Copyright law, fine art and navigating the courts. All practice, no theory.Copyright Litigation Handbook (Thomson Reuters Westlaw 2012-2013) by Raymond J. Dowd
 

Join Us Tonight - The Federal Bar Association Honoring Our Federal Defenders In the Eastern District of New York

 

Honoring Our Federal Defenders

The Federal Bar Association

Invites you

to an event honoring

Our Federal Defenders

~ Introduction by ~

The Honorable Chief Judge Carol Bagley Amon

United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York

~ Role of the Federal Defender Conducted By ~

Loretta E. Lynch

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York

~With remarks by~

David Patton

Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders

Date:

May 20, 2013, 5:30pm

Reception to Follow

Location:

US District Court, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Ceremonial Courtroom, Brooklyn, NY 11201

For more information, please contact:

Phil Schatz, (212) 421-8100 ext. 313

Co-Sponsored by Network of Bar Leaders

David Patton

David Patton has been the Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders of New York since July 2011. From 2002 to 2008, he worked at the Federal Defenders as a trial attorney in the Manhattan office. During that time, he also served as an Adjunct Professor at N.Y.U. School of Law, where he taught the Federal Defender Clinic.

In 2008, Mr. Patton began teaching full time as an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Alabama. From 2010 to 2011, he was a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Stanford Law School where he founded the school’s first trial-level criminal defense clinic. Mr. Patton is also on the faculty of the Southern Public Defender Training Center, a non-profit dedicated to training new public defenders throughout the South. Among other publications, he is the author of Guns, Crime Control, and a Systemic Approach to Federal Sentencing, 32 Cardozo L. Rev. 1427 (2011).

Mr. Patton is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Virginia Law Review. He clerked for the Honorable Claude Hilton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Prior to joining the Federal Defenders in 2002, Mr. Patton was an associate at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.



www.dunnington.com
 Copyright law, fine art and navigating the courts. All practice, no theory.
Copyright Litigation Handbook (Thomson Reuters Westlaw 2012-2013) by Raymond J. Dowd 

Join Us Tonight at the SDNY: Honoring Our Federal Defenders

Honoring Our Federal Defenders

 

The Federal Bar Association Chapter

for the Southern District of New York

Invites you

to an event honoring

Our Federal Defenders

~ Introduction by ~

The Honorable Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska

United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York

~ Role of the Federal Defender Conducted By ~

Richard B. Zabel

Deputy United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York

~With remarks by~

David Patton

Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders

Date:

May 14, 2013, 5:30pm

Reception to Follow

Location:

US District Court, 500 Pearl Street, Room 850, New York, NY 10007

For more information, please contact:

Phil Schatz, (212) 421-8100 ext. 313
 

The Federal Defenders of New York represents people accused of federal crimes in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York who cannot afford to hire an attorney.  The office was formed in the years after the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, decided 50 years ago.  Gideon's promise of equal justice for rich and poor alike remains one of the most important constitutional principles ever espoused. The singular promise -- that the quality of justice afforded to citizens should not depend on their financial means -- has resonated with Americans since the decision was written in 1963. 

Yet, on this 50th Anniversary of Gideon, the Federal Defenders of New York, and offices like it around the country, are facing the most difficult challenges in the history of the federal defender program.  Federal budget sequestration has resulted in steep cuts, greatly endangering the quality of justice in federal courts.  Offices around the country are laying off and furloughing lawyers and staff, and cutting investigative and expert services.  David Patton, the Executive Director of the Federal Defenders of New York, will discuss his office's work and the challenges faced by the budget crisis.

 

             David Patton has been the Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders of New York since July 2011. From 2002 to 2008, he worked at the Federal Defenders as a trial attorney in the Manhattan office. During that time, he also served as an Adjunct Professor at N.Y.U. School of Law, where he taught the Federal Defender Clinic.

In 2008, Mr. Patton began teaching full time as an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Alabama. From 2010 to 2011, he was a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Stanford Law School where he founded the school’s first trial-level criminal defense clinic. Mr. Patton is also on the faculty of the Southern Public Defender Training Center, a non-profit dedicated to training new public defenders throughout the South. Among other publications, he is the author of Guns, Crime Control, and a Systemic Approach to Federal Sentencing, 32 Cardozo L. Rev. 1427 (2011).

Mr. Patton is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Virginia Law Review. He clerked for the Honorable Claude Hilton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Prior to joining the Federal Defenders in 2002, Mr. Patton was an associate at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell

www.dunnington.com
 Copyright law, fine art and navigating the courts. All practice, no theory.
Copyright Litigation Handbook (Thomson Reuters Westlaw 2012-2013) by Raymond J. Dowd