Saturday, April 27, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
CANTON -- St. Lawrence County Attorney and former public defender Stephen Button has been honored with New York State Defender Association’s Service of Justice Award, the highest honor bestowed by …
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CANTON -- St. Lawrence County Attorney and former public defender Stephen Button has been honored with New York State Defender Association’s Service of Justice Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization.
Button was honored after he worked to educate county officials and others across the state about the need to support the reimbursement legislation, according to a press release from the NYSDA.
In October 2015 he hosted a meeting of county attorneys, county executives, and public defenders in Syracuse about pressing the state to take on the costs of and responsibility for mandated legal representation, the release said.
On the fifty-third anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Gideon v Wainwright, which recognized the right to counsel regardless of ability to pay, Button's efforts, the work of his co-awardees, and the support of public defense advocates across the state paid off.
The bill now awaiting the governor's signature gives the NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services (ILS), created by legislation passed in 2010, the authority "to adopt, promulgate, amend or rescind rules and regulations" to "improve the quality of mandated representation" including several specific issues.
"St. Lawrence County is pleased that the New York State Legislature has heard the call to alleviate the burden of unfunded mandates and ensure the protection guaranteed in the Constitution that the accused shall enjoy the right to counsel, funded appropriately and equitably," Button said in a NYSDA news release announcing the bill's passage.
He credited the hard work of his co-awardees, Assemblymember Patricia Fahy and Senate Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco. They sponsored legislation passed recently that will, if it becomes law, bring about full state reimbursement of counties' expenditures for providing legal representation to those who cannot afford counsel. Button worked to secure the bill's passage.
"For your unwavering commitment to quality public defense, and your political commitment to bring it about," reads the plaque Button received.
The award was presented by NYSDA Executive Director Jonathan E. Gradess.
