St. Lawrence County

Office of the District Attorney 48 Court Street, County Courthouse

Canton, New York 13617-1169

Telephone: 315-379-2225 ❖ Fax: 315-379-2301

Mary E. Rain

District Attorney

September 5, 2015

PRESS RELEASE

For the past year and half I have been proud to be part of the most professional and well run

District Attorney’s Office I’ve known here in St. Lawrence County during my 30 years of

practice. Unfortunately my recent actions has tarnished the remarkable job this office has

accomplished given the extremely limited resources it has been provided.

As a lawyer with over 30 years of experience and many appellate briefs under my belt, in

February 2015 I was put in charge of the appeals by District Attorney Mary Rain. Part of my

assignment was to direct younger lawyers along with ensuring the appeals were appropriately

and timely answered and filed. Although I assured D.A. Rain the appeals were being handled

they were not. When she was contacted directly by the Appellate Division she met with me

asking about the status of the cases. She had me provide her a rough draft of the appeals to

ensure they were being filed, however; after providing her with draft I did not file the appeal.

I fell behind in my work due to staffing shortages; although with my 30 years of experience I

should have prioritized my work. I did not. Orders to Show Cause have been filed against D.A.

Rain for something that was totally caused by my inactions although she had continually directed

me to file the appeals; I lead her to believe the appeals were completed when they were not. I am

truly sorry for placing her in this untenable situation.