Public defender nominee defends her qualifications
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Lauren Sheeley, nominated by Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan to be the county’s next public defender, told county lawmakers she has never handled a criminal case and has no jury trial experience, but that those factors shouldn’t be impediments to her becoming the chief defense attorney for the county’s indigent.
“I believe I possess the required knowledge in criminal law to supervise, to learn more and to leverage the team to handle criminal matters across the board,” she told the county Legislature’s Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, adding that she would rely heavily on the expertise of her staff and “be an active listener.”
It was in June that Ryan tapped Sheeley — who he hired last September as first assistant county attorney — to replace former Public Defender Andrew Kossover. Ryan fired Kossover earlier this year because, the executive said, the seasoned defense attorney had failed to secure millions of dollars from the state that was available to the Public Defender’s Office.
In addition to appointing Sheeley to the post, Ryan has proposed making the position full-time, with an annual salary of $120,916. Currently, the public defender is a parttime position, with the most recent salary being $89,153.
Committee members on Wednesday peppered Sheeley with questions that focused on her qualifications. She dismissed her lack of criminal and trial experience as irrelevant, though, saying the majority of the job of public defender is administrative.
“I have the exact knowledge and experience that is need for the administrative portion,” she said.
A 2007 graduate of Albany Law School, Sheeley said she has practiced civil law for 13 years. Before taking the position in the County Attorney’s Office, she was a staff attorney and then the attorney in charge at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley.
Some legislators have questioned whether Sheeley is qualified for the position under the county’s
own requirements, pointing to a job description for the position, adopted in 1979 and revised in 1980, that requires the public defender to have five years in criminal experience.
Ryan called that job description”outdated” and said the county charter doesn’t require standards for the position beyond admission to the Bar Association. He said the New York Defense Association recommends a public defender have experience in criminal or Family Court law and that Sheeley has significant Family Court experience.
The Ulster County public defender represents indigent clients in both criminal and Family Court matters.
“It would be inevitable any candidate would have strengths in one area or the other,” Ryan said.
The executive said that at a time of significant change in the criminal justice system, Sheeley will bring to the office a “commitment to justice for everyone in the county.”
“We are in this critical moment in our country, our county, our state when it comes to criminal justice reform, and I think what is called for now is a real leader who can bring voice and advocate and serve and defend those without a voice,” Ryan said. “That’s really what [Sheeley] has dedicated herself to.”
Committee members voted unanimously to pass the nomination on to the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee and ultimately to the floor of the full Legislature for consideration, because Chairwoman Eve Walter said, under the county charter, the full Legislature must vote on executive appointments or they automatically take effect.
The full Legislature will vote on Sheeley’s appointment on July 21.