Byrnes v. County of Monroe

128 Misc. 2d 700, 490 N.Y.S.2d 977, 1985 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2982
CourtRochester City Court
DecidedJune 10, 1985
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 128 Misc. 2d 700 (Byrnes v. County of Monroe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Rochester City Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Byrnes v. County of Monroe, 128 Misc. 2d 700, 490 N.Y.S.2d 977, 1985 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2982 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

John Manning Regan, J.

By order to show cause dated August 21, 1984, returnable September 6, 1984, the petitioner seeks an “order of enforcement”, or “such other, further, and different relief as to the Court shall deem proper”, against the County of Monroe in respect to an award of counsel fees and disbursements in the sum of $993 which this court granted the petitioner on February 13, 1984.

Petitioner, attorney Byrnes, alleges that this court assigned him to represent one Cheryl Dettman on December 17, 1982, because she was an indigent defendant. The police had charged Dettman with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. Moreover, because the Public Defender of Monroe County already represented a codefendant charged simultaneously with Ms. Dettman with similar offenses arising out of [701]*701the same transactional events (which codefendant representation had created an irreconcilable conflict of interests), the Public Defender’s office was disqualified from representing both defendants at the same time. This disqualification mandated the appointment of Byrnes as attorney for Ms. Dettman.

From the outset, the case presented both unusual and difficult circumstances. The events which produced the charges occurred in Ms. Dettman’s home. There was a forcible police entry, without a warrant, to arrest Ms. Dettman’s boyfriend who did not regularly reside in that home, but who was rumored to be there that night. There were allegations of police brutality, allegations of prior police misconduct toward others, and toward these defendants, and serious physical injuries, including a broken nose Ms. Dettman suffered at that time.

Pretrial discovery included extensive examination of the police department’s internal investigation unit, the securing of some, but not all, documents in some of the police personnel records, court enforcement of subpoenas, and hearings, in court, on the scope of such subpoenas, and, further, complex legal arguments under Civil Rights Law § 50-a.1

The trial occurred on October 23 and 24, 1983, and involved half a dozen witnesses, hospital records, and legal memoranda.

The defendant was acquitted on the charge of resisting arrest, but she was convicted of obstructing governmental administration.

Because of the defendant’s pregnancy and medical complications which evolved from that pregnancy, sentencing was delayed until February 7, 1984.

On February 9, 1984, petitioner Byrnes submitted to this court a six-page affidavit describing the details of his representation, and also submitted a preprinted voucher, directed to the County of Monroe, for payment of fees in the sum of $873 and of disbursements in the sum of $120, or a total sum of $993. These documents were submitted to this court in accordance with County Law § 722-b, the penultimate paragraph of which provides that this procedure shall be followed in respect to compensation and reimbursement for representation by assigned counsel. This court reviewed these documents, and, being satisfied with their accuracy, their reasonableness, and their necessity, [702]*702awarded petitioner his full $993 request. Admittedly, this sum was $493 more than County Law, article 18-B, § 722-b allows for the defense of a misdemeanant, save but for “extraordinary circumstances”. (See, County Law § 722-b.) This court found that, in this case, the extraordinary circumstances conditions had been met.

Notwithstanding this finding, the County of Monroe did not pay any of these vouchers, nor has it yet paid any of them. The order to show cause and petition referred to above has yielded the County’s explanation. In that response, the County has raised the following arguments and defenses:

(1) Rule 1022.12 of the Rules of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department (22 NYCRR), requires that the Supervising Judge of the Criminal Courts approve any request for compensation greater than that statutorily allowed under County Law § 722-b. The County alleges that petitioner Byrnes has not secured such approval, nor has he complied with the rule.

(2) Byrnes has not filed a notice of claim pursuant to County Law § 52.

(3) The proceeding herein requires a plenary lawsuit and cannot be prosecuted by an order to show cause.

The pleadings have thus framed an important substantive issue of law, to wit: Whether Appellate Division, Fourth Department, rule 1022.12 and County Law § 722-b can legally coexist. For it is obvious that the Fourth Department rule both requires, prior to payment, a form of administrative review of every “extraordinary circumstances” award of trial courts in respect to counsel assigned to indigent criminal defendants, and assumes an administrative authority to disallow such payment in the event of noncompliance with the rule, while the statute, itself, prima facie, invests the trial court with the authority to make such awards, and order such payments.

The statute says: “For representation on an appeal, compensation and reimbursement shall be fixed by the appellate court. For all other representation, compensation and reimbursement shall be fixed by the court where judgment of conviction or acquittal or order of dismissal was entered. In extraordinary circumstances the trial court may provide for compensation in excess of the foregoing limits and for payment of compensation and reimbursement for expenses before the completion of the representation.” (County Law § 722-b.)

The rule of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, states:

[703]*703“(b) All vouchers submitted by attorneys, psychiatrists or physicians, pursuant to section 35 of the Judiciary Law, and section 722 (b) of the County Law in which the compensation sought exceeds the statutory limits shall be submitted to the judge or justice before whom the matter was heard and to the Supervising Judge of Criminal Courts of the appropriate judicial district for approval or modification. The attorney, psychiatrist or physician shall attach thereto an affidavit describing the unusual or extraordinary circumstances which warrant the additional fee. Time itself does not necessarily constitute an extraordinary circumstance.

“(c) A judge or justice approving such a fee, shall certify that the circumstances are unusual and extraordinary and that therefore a fee in excess of the statutory limit has been earned and the amount thereof. Such certification shall state circumstances, other than additional time, which justify the fee recommended. In the absence of either the attorney’s affidavit or the court’s certification, additional compensation shall not be allowed.” (22 NYCRR 1022.12 [b], [c].)

Petitioner Byrnes argues that the statute and the rule are contradictory, and that, therefore, the rule must fail. Byrnes does not deny he has not gotten the approval of the Supervising Judge of Criminal Courts for the Seventh Judicial District. His position is that such approval is both superfluous and illegal.

The County argues that the rule and the statute are compatible, not contradictory, and that Byrnes must comply with the rule, as well as the statute, and that failure to secure such approval is fatal to his claim.

A study of the legal history, meaning and intendment, both of the statute and of the rule, has, for these reasons, become necessary.

I. HISTORY OF THE STATUTE

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re the Director of the Assigned Counsel Plan
159 Misc. 2d 109 (New York Supreme Court, 1993)
Kindlon v. County of Rensselaer
145 Misc. 2d 412 (New York Supreme Court, 1989)
Byrnes v. County of Monroe
122 A.D.2d 549 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1986)
Byrnes v. County of Monroe
131 Misc. 2d 129 (New York County Courts, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
128 Misc. 2d 700, 490 N.Y.S.2d 977, 1985 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2982, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/byrnes-v-county-of-monroe-nyroccityct-1985.