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St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain says inadequate staffing forcing cuts to services

Posted 8/21/15

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain has issued a letter to town justices stating her office will be reducing services at local courts due to inadequate staffing levels. In a letter issued …

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St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain says inadequate staffing forcing cuts to services

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St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain has issued a letter to town justices stating her office will be reducing services at local courts due to inadequate staffing levels.

In a letter issued Aug. 17, Rain says that beginning Monday prosecutors will only appear in town, village and city courts to “conduct scheduled hearings and trials.”

“All other physical appearances will be temporarily be suspended for six months, at which point the office will reevaluate its position,” she wrote.

The letter comes on the heels of the St. Lawrence County Legislature’s refusal to fill a vacancy in the District Attorney’s office.

Early this month the Legislature passed a 60-day delay on filling all vacant positions in an effort to save money as it faces a nearly $4 million budget gap. The gap is blamed largely on rising health care costs and sales tax shortfalls.

Rain’s letter follows:

Dear Justices,

As you may know, the County Legislators recently voted against filling a prosecutor vacancy, placing the District Attorney's Office at dangerously low staffing levels. While I recognize the fiscal restraints our County faces, the absence of adequate funding, staff, and resources has left me with no choice but to cut services.

Faced with the unfortunate dilemma of either not prosecuting all cases or finding a way to free up my prosecutors to handle the crushing caseload, I am instituting the following emergency measures to ensure that all cases in my office continue to receive attention:

• Effective August 24,2015, prosecutors will only appear in town, village, and city courts to conduct scheduled hearings and trials. All other physical appearances will be temporarily suspended for a period of six months, at which point the office will reevaluate its position.

• In order to keep prosecutors accessible to the community, the District Attorney's Office will hold weekly office hours at the County Courthouse on Mondays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1l a.m., where citizens seeking reductions for non-DWI traffic infractions can meet with a prosecutor on a walk-in basis.

• Local court prosecutors will continue receiving local court calendars by mail, fax, and/or email, and will respond by providing the courts and defense attorneys with status updates and offers on the pending cases.

• As always, prosecutors will take meetings with defense attorneys by appointment. Despite the absence of adequate resources, my office remains unwavering in its commitment to public safety. I'm proud of my staff, and confident that they will continue to efficiently and effectively serve the citizens of St. Lawrence County. Thank you for your time and courtesy in this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 379-2225.

Yours truly,

Mary E. Rain