Genesee County Public Defender's Office

The Genesee County public defender said he hopes to see a centralized location for arraignments in the near future – action that could save the county money in transportation costs.

Speaking at the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee meeting today at the Old County Courthouse, Jerry Ader said that arraignments are back to the “24/7 … off hours and weekends” set-up now that emergency declarations related to the COVID-19 pandemic have ended.

“We went through some changes during the pandemic; the state allowed us to go virtual for all court proceedings,” Ader said. “So, the electronic appearances were being done without any travel for the sheriff's department, for the court staff or for us (public defenders) -- and everything was done at the jail through electronic appearance.”

Ader said the Sheriff’s Office has been cooperating with his department to possibly allow arraignments at the old sheriff’s office building on West Main Street for a centralized arraignment.

“Talks are ongoing right now between the (New York State) Indigent Legal Services Office, Office of Court Administration and the sheriff's department,” he reported.

“So, there might be some progress in the very near future that we might have a central location to do arraignments at night and weekends and during the day either at the jail and at the city courtroom, depending on when the arraignment is done. This would alleviate transportation for defendants to the courts of their jurisdiction and, obviously, transportation for my attorneys.”

Ader said many counties have instituted such a plan, and that local magistrates are supporting it for Genesee. He said that his office is handling 20 to 30 arraignments per month on average.

In his report to the committee, Ader said he has funds to fill open staff positions this year, but it has been difficult to find qualified applicants for attorney, paralegal and social worker jobs, and office space is a concern.

The public defender’s office application to the Unified Court System for a new five-year contract to provide "attorney for the child services"was successful, Ader reported. The new pact will fund a full-time Family Court lawyer.

The Public Service Committee approved a resolution to accept an amended contract with the Office of Indigent Legal Services for grant funding for year three of the county’s five-year contract.

State law ensures that all eligible defendants are represented by counsel at arraignment, in compliance with ILS caseload standards. The contract for 2022 is for $283,260.

Ader said negotiations with ILS for the fourth year of the grant will be focused on renovations at the former Engine House to create more office space for the department.

Considerable grant funding has enabled the Genesee County Public Defender’s Office to handle its caseload, provide technology for its attorneys and keep the line of communication with its clients open, Public Defender Jerry Ader said Tuesday.

In his 2021 report to the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee, Ader said he was “pleased” about the grant funding, noting that the department’s staff -- which includes six full-time and one part-time assistant public defenders -- is “adapting and being flexible as we deal with the (COVID-19) pandemic.”

“All in all, we’re doing pretty well, all things considered,” he said.

His report indicated that his office is “directly related to the protocols and procedures in effect by the courts and, to a lesser degree, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.”

Ader said grant money has enabled the purchase of laptops for each of the lawyers, vital to efficiency as much work is being done remotely, and more and more appearances are “virtual.” 

The office received a grant to devise a better video conference setup between attorney and client, one that features a plexiglass shield for the conference table, wall-mounted television, and premium air purifier.

Additionally, the office continues to receive grant funding from the New York Indigent Legal Services Office and “notwithstanding the financial constraints New York faces … we continue to receive full reimbursement for our claims on this funding,” Ader said.

He said the second year budget of a five-year contract with ILS was approved and will provide more than $650,000 to the department. Focus on the third-year budget will be on renovating part of the former Engine House restaurant to make it Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant for access to the second floor and to build office space.

Financial incentives from ILS are allowing staff members to appear at all off-hours arraignments, no matter what time of day, Ader said. He said his office is working with local judges to appear regularly for arraignments on appearance tickets during regular business hours.

Ader said there is talk about continuing virtual arraignments after the pandemic subsides, but thinks “it will meet a lot of resistance post-pandemic.”

On the subject of staffing, he said he hopes to fill the vacant paralegal position once vaccines for the pandemic are more widely available and being taken by the general public.

“We have 2021 grant funding to increase our staff by one senior assistant public defender and one social worker, but hiring will depend on the availability of space and approval by the Genesee County Legislature,” he said.