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St. Lawrence County eyes filling two vacant assistant district attorney positions in wake of three resignations

Posted 5/24/16

By JIMMY LAWTON St. Lawrence County’s finance committee has recommended filling only two assistant district attorney jobs in the wake of three recent resignations. Three vacancies came swiftly and …

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St. Lawrence County eyes filling two vacant assistant district attorney positions in wake of three resignations

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

St. Lawrence County’s finance committee has recommended filling only two assistant district attorney jobs in the wake of three recent resignations.

Three vacancies came swiftly and unexpectedly over the past month after one ADA, Jonathan Jirik, allegedly tried a felony case without proper credentials and resigned. Two more ADAs filed resignations after a party at the apartment of then ADA Matt Hogestyn, to which police were called to assist at around 3 a.m. on May 6.

David Park, who was also an ADA at the time, was charged by state police with driving while intoxicated following the party at around 4 a.m. Park and Hogestyn resigned shortly thereafter.

Several members of the county prosecutor’s officer were also reported to be at the party.

North Country This Week has submitted a Freedom of Information request for the 911 recordings leading up to and around the police response to the party after several readers told NCTW that the call had originally come in as a report of an attempted stabbing. Potsdam police, who responded to the party, have refuted the claims.

North Country This Week’s request for the recordings has not yet been granted.

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain has been in a constant struggle to maintain staffing levels since she took office in 2014. To date 14 ADAs have left the office through resignations, terminations or otherwise since Rain has been chief prosecutor.

Last month, county legislators approved a “no-confidence” resolution regarding Rain and have also called on the state to initiate an investigation to determine if she is fit to serve in her elected position.

Making matters a bit murkier is the fact that at least one of the recent resignations came from an ADA who was granted the position through a program in which universities helped pay a portion of the salary for freshly graduated law students.

County Board of Legislators Chairman John Burke was unable to immediately answer questions regarding the program and whether or not it would continue, but said it was his understanding that the county would not be on the hook to repay the universities for any portion of the salaries.

On Monday, the county’s Vacancy Review Committee recommended filling at least two of the vacancies immediately, but suggested waiting until November for a secondary review on the third.

The county currently employs six ADAs, including Chief Assistant District Attorney Frank Cositore. Based on St. Lawrence County’s population, geographical size and number of courts, the Fourth Judicial District recommends that the county should have 12 ADAs.

The lack of prosecutors has made things difficult for Rain who is engaged with the high-profile child murder case against Nick Hillary in Potsdam.

In the past, town court justices and the county public defender have stated that the lack of prosecutors has caused a massive backlog in local courts, a problem unlikely to change as the DA’s office will continue to operate below recommended staffing levels.