Honoring Our Federal Defenders

The Federal Bar Association Chapter for the Southern District of New York Invites you to an event honoring Our Federal Defenders ~ Introduction by ~ The Honorable Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York ~ Role of the Federal Defender Conducted By ~ Richard B. Zabel Deputy United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York ~With remarks by~ David Patton Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders Date: May 14, 2013, 5:30pm Reception to Follow Location: US District Court, 500 Pearl Street, Room 850, New York, NY 10007 For more information, please contact: Phil Schatz, (212) 421-8100 ext. 313

The Federal Defenders of New York represents people accused of federal crimes in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York who cannot afford to hire an attorney. The office was formed in the years after the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, decided 50 years ago. Gideon's promise of equal justice for rich and poor alike remains one of the most important constitutional principles ever espoused. The singular promise -- that the quality of justice afforded to citizens should not depend on their financial means -- has resonated with Americans since the decision was written in 1963. Yet, on this 50th Anniversary of Gideon, the Federal Defenders of New York, and offices like it around the country, are facing the most difficult challenges in the history of the federal defender program. Federal budget sequestration has resulted in steep cuts, greatly endangering the quality of justice in federal courts. Offices around the country are laying off and furloughing lawyers and staff, and cutting investigative and expert services. David Patton, the Executive Director of the Federal Defenders of New York, will discuss his office's work and the challenges faced by the budget crisis. David Patton has been the Executive Director and Attorney-in-Chief of the Federal Defenders of New York since July 2011. From 2002 to 2008, he worked at the Federal Defenders as a trial attorney in the Manhattan office. During that time, he also served as an Adjunct Professor at N.Y.U. School of Law, where he taught the Federal Defender Clinic. In 2008, Mr. Patton began teaching full time as an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Alabama. From 2010 to 2011, he was a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Stanford Law School where he founded the schools first trial-level criminal defense clinic. Mr. Patton is also on the faculty of the Southern Public Defender Training Center, a non-profit dedicated to training new public defenders throughout the South. Among other publications, he is the author of Guns, Crime Control, and a Systemic Approach to Federal Sentencing, 32 Cardozo L. Rev. 1427 (2011). Mr. Patton is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Virginia Law Review. He clerked for the Honorable Claude Hilton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Prior to joining the Federal Defenders in 2002, Mr. Patton was an associate at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.