Competence

The current District Attorney's unwillingness and failure to communicate openly with every other participant in the criminal justice system - defense attorneys, judges, police, victims, witnesses - as demonstrated over and over throughout this website - costs taxpayers money.

Here is one dramatic, amazing example:

The Adrian Jones case:

Earlier this summer, in June 2008, a felony drug case with two defendants was scheduled for trial in County Court. A panel of potential jurors was gathered and paid on a per diem basis; extra court and security staff was assembled, and paid; defense attorneys prepared for trial - if an assigned attorney, with attendant cost; the Court set aside time from its busy calendar to hold this trial.

The Public Defender's Office represented defendant Adrian Jones, and had previously represented a criminal who had informed on Adrian Jones in this very case, and was now the key witness against him. For that reason, the Public Defender's Office could not represent Adrian Jones in this case.

The Court first learned of this conflict the morning of the first day of trial, when the District Attorney himself disclosed the identity of the informant. At that point, the Court had to adjourn the trial, assign new counsel - at public further expense - and reschedule the matter for its next trial term, months in the future. Adrian Jones is incarcerated, so, unless he makes bail, he will sit in our jail, awaiting trial, at our further expense.

At the beginning of the case, Mr. Hartnett was asked to review his file, and disclose, if only to the Court, whether such a conflict existed. He failed or refused to perform even that task. If he had, this defendant would have been given another attorney, the case could have been tried when scheduled, the people assembled for the trial would not have been inconvenienced, and all the money spent to assemble them would not have been wasted.

This is only one, dramatic, example of the waste of tax dollars directly related to the current District Attorney's failure to engage in the most elementary early case evaluation and the most basic professional courtesies and communication.

MARK SUBEN WOULD, in a similar situation, simply review the file, alert the Court and counsel to the conflict, and move the case efficiently to resolution.

The people of Cortland County need to be represented by a District Attorney with the willingness to communicate and the ability to convict criminals, promptly and surely.

Our current District Attorney's record in office shows that he cannot do that.

Mark Suben's record and reputation as a prosecutor and trial lawyer shows that he can.

VOTE FOR MARK SUBEN FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY
ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH

BECAUSE IT MATTERS.