Enshrined in the Sixth Amendment of our Constitution is the right of the accused in a criminal matter to be represented by counsel.  In 1963, in the landmark decision of Gideon v. Wainwright, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the right to counsel is a fundamental right and that counsel must be appointed in cases where the accused cannot afford to hire an attorney:

In our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. This seems to us to be an obvious truth. Governments, both state and federal, quite properly spend vast sums of money to establish machinery to try defendants accused of crime. Lawyers to prosecute are everywhere deemed essential to protect the public’s interest in an orderly society. . . . That government hires lawyers to prosecute and defendants who have the money hire lawyers to defend are the strongest indications of the wide-spread belief that lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries.  The right of one charged with crime to counsel may not be deemed fundamental and essential to fair trials in some countries, but it is in ours. From the very beginning, our state and national constitutions and laws have laid great emphasis on procedural and substantive safeguards designed to assure fair trials before impartial tribunals in which every defendant stands equal before the law. This noble ideal cannot be realized if the poor man charged with crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him.

Gideon, 372 U.S. 335, 344.

On the heels of Gideon, Congress passed the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) of 1964, authorizing courts to establish a panel of private attorneys to accept assignments to represent indigent defendants and who would be compensated through the judiciary.  The Western District of New York has maintained a talented panel of private attorneys, called the CJA Panel, who accept assignments from the Court to represent individuals charged with federal crimes who are unable to hire a lawyer.  The Court has a standing CJA Committee, comprised of five attorneys and two Magistrate Judges, to help administer the Panel.  Since its inception, the Committee has been chaired by attorney David Rothenberg of Rothenberg Law.  The Panel is also represented nationally by a Panel District Representative. The Western District has had three Representatives: James Harrington of Harrington & Mahoney; Rodney Personius of Personius Melber, LLP; and Mark Foti of the Foti Law Firm, PC.

In 1970 the Criminal Justice Act was amended to allow districts where at least 200 persons require assignment of counsel annually, to establish Federal Public Defender Offices (FPD).  In districts with such an office, Assistant Federal Public Defenders are assigned to represent indigent defendants.  The office also provides training and support to CJA Panel attorneys, who continue to accept cases where the FPD has a conflict.

It was several decades before the Western District of New York met the threshold number of defendants charged to warrant creation of a Federal Public Defender’s Office. But, by the late 1980s, the “War on Drugs” led to an increase in federal prosecutions, largely stemming from investigations focused on impoverished areas and communities of color within our district. This spike in criminal cases, many of which included draconian mandatory penalties, sharply increased the need for skilled defense counsel to provide representation.

The Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Western District of New York was established in 1992 with the appointment of the first Defender, Jonathan W. Feldman, now a U.S. Magistrate Judge.  The FPD, located in Buffalo and Rochester, is a law office that provides the highest quality legal representation to persons charged with committing federal crimes who cannot afford to hire an attorney.  The FPD accepts all assignments where there is no conflict of interest and vigorously defends its clients, both at trial and on appeal, and advocates for a fair sentence if convicted.

The FPD began accepting assignments in July 1992, with three attorneys and six support staff.  From the original nine employees, the FPD has grown to a total complement of 32 employees, including 16 Assistant Federal Public Defenders.  The Office boasts both a trial and appellate unit.  Every member of the Federal Public Defender’s Office – attorneys, legal assistants, paralegals, investigators, office administrators, and information technology specialists – are dedicated to the fair and just treatment of the accused and work diligently to safeguard their clients’ rights and dignity.

The Federal Public Defender leads the office and is appointed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  In its 32-years of operation, the FPD has had only four heads of office. After Judge Feldman was elevated to the bench, William Clauss was appointed in November 1995 and served until 2003. Thereafter Joseph B. Mistrett was selected to lead the FPD until his retirement in 2007.  Marianne Mariano was appointed in February 2008 and is the Western District’s current Federal Public Defender.

The FPD and the CJA Panel attorneys have collaborated for more than thirty years to provide zealous representation to tens of thousands of indigent people charged with federal offenses in the Western District of New York.  Together, they have championed the rights of the indigent accused, fulfilling the promise of Gideon.

This page was prepared by Federal Public Defender Marianne Mariano (pictured).