Head of Erie County legal program under fire following Dem event

Chief Defender Michelle Parker sent an email to all attorneys in the Assigned Counsel Program last month, urging them to begin “pulling the levers of the political system” to push back against efforts by County Executive Mark Poloncarz , aimed at creating a separate public agency, managed by the county. Defender’s Office.

Given the possibility that such an office would dismantle the assigned counsel program, run by the Erie County Bar Association, Parker said it was important that attorneys have time to meet with Democratic leaders in the majority.

She then sent an email to advocates Sunday asking that those who cannot attend the luncheon consider writing a check payable to the Erie County Democratic Committee and mailing it to them.

“I will bring any donations that come to me to the event,” she said. “Old-fashioned grouping. »

Republican county legislators said they were offended and outraged by the partisan approach to Parker’s “financial discussions” on the issue and sent a letter calling for his resignation to Rowan Wilson, chief judge of the Court of Appeals of the State and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New York Times. York State Office of Indigent Legal Services.

“This is literally a pay-to-play game,” said Republican lawmaker Lindsay Lorigo of West Seneca.

Republican lawmakers said it was a mistake for Parker, who leads the organization and has ultimate decision-making authorityto solicit political donations on behalf of the Democratic president, and that she abused her authority by using the Designated Lawyers Program list as the basis for her email message to recipients.

Parker responded that she has never and will never play any role in how indigent cases are assigned to attorneys. Decisions about how lawyers are assigned cases follow a set of practical considerations that have nothing to do with politics. As it stands, she said, there aren’t enough lawyers to handle the existing caseload.

“I feel like we’re operating in shortage,” she said. “In the three and a half years I have served, I have not assigned a single case. There’s a mission specialist who takes care of it.

Parker also said the donations were purely voluntary and she didn’t expect everyone would want to donate, but she thought it was a good way to meet Democrats who are often key decision makers in Erie County and hold a majority in the Erie County Legislature. .

“I thought it would be a good place to be visible and seen,” she said.

Republican lawmakers held a news conference Monday, announcing they had sent a letter to Parker and Judge Wilson demanding his immediate resignation, blaming him for using the Assigned Counsel Program’s list of attorneys to solicit donations for a political party and to “force” members to report their contributions to it.

This is at odds with policies set forth by the Indigent Legal Services Board, they said, citing the board’s comments that the program “must remain free from conflicts of interest, political influence and other external pressures.

“These actions are a direct and clear violation of the rules established by the Indigent Legal Services Board, compromising the integrity of not only the Chief Defender, Michelle Parker, but also the entire Designated Counsel Program.” , said Lorigo.

Minority Leader John Mills, R-Orchard Park, highlighted the cost of tickets to the fundraiser, which range from $2,000 to $5,000.

“This is outrageous and I can’t believe the citizens of this county would put up with this,” Mills said.

Parker said his desire to see attorneys circulate and be “in the room” when decisions are made regarding the designated attorney program reflects nonpartisan goals of advocating for the value of the program.

Poloncarz’s plan to create a public defender’s office, Parker said, does not accurately account for the cost-effectiveness of the existing public defender system, which she said is less expensive than that of neighboring Monroe County, considering of the size of the population.

Republicans have expressed skepticism about a public defender’s office, Parker said, but because they are in the minority, lobbying must be done to Democrats.

She emphasized that the emails she sent came from her personal email account and were written while she was on vacation or over the weekend. No program funds are spent on fundraising. These are not violations of the law, she said, and she does not think she risks being removed from office.

Lawmakers said Parker and his attorneys have the opportunity to be heard at a hearing before the county legislature and other forms of outreach.

Parker said her recommendations for contributions to the Democratic Party chairman constituted a form of lobbying and that she and other attorneys hoped to participate in others. She also recommends that attorneys participating in the program create their own nonpartisan political action committee to support candidates for the Legislature who favor maintaining the appointed attorney program.

Zellner said Parker’s actions had nothing to do with him.

“The email solicitation in question was conducted by Ms. Parker without any involvement from me or the Erie County Democratic Party,” he said in a statement. “The ethics of his actions must be evaluated by others.”