| NEW YORK - Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye announced today
the appointment of Peter L. Zimroth to the New York State Capital Defender
Office's Board of Directors. The three-member board is currently chaired
by Christopher Stone, who was appointed by State Assembly Speaker Sheldon
Silver, while John T. Casey, appointed by Senate Majority Leader Joseph
L. Bruno, serves as the third member of the board. Mr. Zimroth will be
replacing former Court of Appeals Judge Richard D. Simons, who has served
on the board for the past three years and who is now a member of the Statewide
Commission on Fiduciary Appointments.
The Capital Defender Office is authorized by law to coordinate representation
of criminal defendants charged with capital crimes who are unable to afford
counsel. The Board of Directors appoints a Capital Defender, sets policy
and oversees the general operation of the office.
Chief Judge Kaye said, "Peter Zimroth has a comprehensive view of the
criminal justice system based on decades of experience as a law professor,
prosecutor, private litigator and advocate for indigent defendants. I am
confident that his extensive background in criminal law will help ensure
that New York's Capital Defender Office continues to be regarded as among
the best in the country and am delighted that Mr. Zimroth has accepted
this appointment. I would also like to recognize the contributions of Judge
Simons, who has provided invaluable expertise to the Capital Defender Board
for the past three years and is now leaving this position to serve on the
Statewide Commission on Fiduciary Appointments. I thank Judge Simons for
his distinguished service on the board and am pleased that the justice
system will continue to benefit from his wealth of knowledge and experience
in this new capacity."
Mr. Zimroth, a partner at Arnold & Porter, has had extensive experience
in the field of criminal law, including serving as Corporation Counsel
for the City of New York, Chief Assistant and Chief of the Appeals Bureau
in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of New York. A graduate of Yale Law School and
Columbia College, Mr. Zimroth was formerly a law professor at New York
University Law School. He chaired the Criminal Procedure Committee for
the U.S. District Court, Eastern District, and key committees of both the
American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of
New York, as well as having served on former Mayor Koch's Committee on
the Judiciary and the Criminal Procedure Law Advisory Committee of the
State Judicial Conference. Mr. Zimroth is currently on the Legal Aid Society's
board of directors and previously served on the board of directors for
the Committee for Modern Courts, Volunteers of Legal Services and the Executive
Committee of the City Bar Association. |
