Law firm to handle DAs' suit for free

ALBANY, N.Y. _ A New York City law firm that handles cases with the Manhattan district attorney's office is representing the state district attorneys association at no cost in a lawsuit challenging legislation signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo creating a special commission to investigate prosecutorial misconduct.

The legal work is being done pro bono by Walden Macht & Haran, a prominent Manhattan law firm.

Records indicate the firm, which handles criminal defense and other types of law, has had clients with cases before various district attorneys _ including Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who is president of the nonprofit district attorneys association, said the organization's members could have filed the lawsuit against Cuomo and legislative leaders, but they preferred the "unjaundiced eye" of an outside law firm do the work and leave the prosecutors free to focus on public matters.

"This was something we went over internally, and felt entirely comfortable with," Soares said, noting the association was fully transparent about the pro bono nature of the representation and had announced the firm was doing the work last month.

The association, which receives some public funding, could have paid for legal representation through its members' dues, Soares said, but he preferred the nonprofit use its resources for other purposes, such as training prosecutors.

Jim Walden, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, has represented a number of clients before Vance's office, including several cases involving professional athletes in New York City. In April, Walden was profiled by the New York Times for his representation of those high-profile clients.

Soares said that Walden does not currently have any cases pending before Vance or other New York district attorneys, and that Walden's cases with Vance's office were limited. In the future, Walden would seek a waiver if any potential conflicts arose.

Last year, Vance's office declined to bring charges against a Walden client, former New York Knicks forward Kyle O'Quinn, who had been accused of choking a woman outside a New York City bar.

Walden stated at the time that O'Quinn was innocent. The attorney for the woman who was allegedly choked, however, told the New York Post last year that Vance's decision had shown "extreme favoritism" to the celebrity.

In 2014, former Knicks guard Raymond Felton reached a plea with Vance's office on a felony gun possession charge, an agreement that allowed Felton to avoid jail time. Represented by Walden in the matter, Felton thanked Vance for "being fair to me in this whole situation."

Walden's June court appearance in Brooklyn with UFC star Conor McGregor, who had been videotaped attacking a busload of other fighters, was Walden's lone appearance in front of the Brooklyn district attorney's office, Walden said. The representation lasted only briefly.

The petition, filed by the district attorneys association in state Supreme Court in Albany in October, challenges legislation Cuomo signed in August creating the Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct. The 11-member panel would review complaints of misconduct by prosecutors and recommend any disciplinary action to Cuomo, who would have the power to remove a district attorney for cause.

"Our criminal justice system must fairly convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent," Cuomo said in a statement after signing the legislation. "When any prosecutor consciously disregards that fundamental duty, communities suffer and lose faith in the system, and they must have a forum to be heard and seek justice."

Walden was interested in working on the case, at no charge, largely because he believes the law creating the commission is unconstitutional, Soares said.

"The New York state Constitution clearly sets forth the distinct roles and responsibilities of each branch of state government," states a memorandum filed in court by Walden's firm. "It is a bedrock principle of our democracy that no statute, no matter how noble its ostensible purpose, may violate that constitutional structure."

Walden's memorandum outlined seven areas of the law that were unconstitutional.

An analysis by the state attorney general's office agreed with that position, concluding the legislation was poorly crafted and would likely not withstand a court challenge because of "several constitutional defects."

Cuomo has acknowledged the bill "suffers from several flaws," but said those issues would be handled by amending the legislation when the state Senate and Assembly return to Albany for the 2019 session in January.

The state officials named as defendants in the case have also lined up notable private attorneys _ including several from Albany _ at taxpayers' expense. In addition to Cuomo, the private attorneys are representing Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Attorney General Barbara Underwood's office had declined to represent the lawmakers, citing a potential conflict of interest.