Onondaga County

The DWI Bureau is responsible for the prosecution of offenses involving alcohol and driving offenses or the sale of alcohol to minors. The responsibilities of the Bureau include the prosecution of cases involving:

• Driving while intoxicated

• Boating while intoxicated

• Snowmobiling while intoxicated

• Unlawfully dealing with a child – selling or providing alcohol to minors (endangering the welfare of a child and/or ABC violations)

• All vehicular fatalities
• All Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 1st and 2nd charges (where underlying suspension is a result of an alcohol related offense).

The Economic Crime Bureau specializes in the prosecution of white-collar crimes for the District Attorney. The Bureau is responsible for the prosecution of all types of economic crimes ranging from the issuance of a bad check to the embezzlement of large amounts of corporate funds.

Typical cases involve stolen and forged checks, stolen credit cards, cloned credit cards, counterfeit checks, ATM scams, bad check schemes, employee thefts, embezzlements, identity theft, bank fraud, and other thefts by deception. In addition, the Bureau prosecutes insurance fraud, unemployment insurance fraud, and welfare fraud and state tax fraud referrals from the State Tax Department.

The Felony Trial Bureau is responsible for prosecuting the bulk of felonies in Onondaga County that do not fall under the auspices of other specialized bureaus. The bureau is staffed by a Felony Trial Bureau Chief who screens every case assigned to his or her bureau and 7-8 experienced Assistant District Attorneys.  The bureau prosecutes felonies ranging from larcenies to attempted murder.  The average caseload of a felony trial bureau ADA is 80 – 100 cases at one time.

The responsibilities of the bureau include the prosecution of assault cases leading to physical or serious physical injury; robbery cases (whether or not a weapon was used); home invasion burglaries as well as the more traditional burglary involving theft from a home or non-residential building. The Felony Trial Bureau also is responsible for prosecuting thefts and/or possession of stolen property with a value of over $1,000.00.

Special emphasis is given to gun crimes criminal possession of illegal weapon cases. Specific ADA’s are assigned to handle these cases.  They are typically “fast tracked” (indicted within 5 days).  The District Attorney has adopted a policy of zero tolerance to the possession of illegal handguns.

The Felony Trial Bureau also reviews arrest warrant applications for sufficiency and appropriate action.

The Felony Trial Bureau works closely with the specialized bureaus to ensure efficient utilization of office resources and expertise.

The Grand Jury Bureau is run by a Senior ADA as Bureau Chief. There are no other ADAs assigned to the Bureau. As Bureau Chief it is his/her responsibility to:

• Empanel all Grand Juries.

• Maintain the scheduling of all Grand Juries.

• Act as office liaison to the Commissioner of Jurors and Deputy Commissioner of Jurors.

• Supervise the support staff for the Grand Jury Bureau including three Grand Jury Stenographers.

• Advise all ADAs on procedures.

• Review charges to the Grand Jury.

• Review all Indictments and SCIs prior to the District Attorney’s signature.

• Handle any problems involving individual Grand Jurors or the scheduling of the Grand Jury.

• Supervise Grand Jury reports.

The Homicide Bureau consists of the trial lawyers who have the appropriate experience, skill, and work ethic to handle the most serious cases in the District Attorney’s Office.  They must be attorneys who are so dedicated to seeing justice done that they are willing to put their personal lives on hold while they work countless hours, day and night to investigate, prepare and present the best possible case for the People. Not all attorneys in the office will have the opportunity to prosecute homicides; assignment of attorneys for homicides is made directly by the District Attorney or First Chief ADA.

It is the policy of this office that the homicide prosecutor responds to the initial homicide crime scene with the investigating police agency to view the scene first hand and provide legal assistance, advice and make the charging decisions. The ADA will follow the case, working with the police agency until such time as an arrest is made and the defendant is arraigned in the appropriate court. All future court appearances and legal action in the homicide case are the responsibility of the assigned ADA.

The Investigation Bureau was established to assist prosecutors with building their cases and provide investigative services to support the mission of the District Attorney’s Office. These services include: serving subpoenas and other court process; locating and interviewing witnesses and victims and securing their presence at any Grand Jury or court appearance, which may also involve the security of witnesses or witness protection. The investigators also assist in securing and storing evidence that has been collected by the arresting police agencies, or from the crime lab, after forensic analysis for the purposes of presenting it at trial. District Attorney Investigators are sworn police officers.

The primary duty of the Law and Appeals Bureau is to represent the District Attorney’s Office in appeals and post-conviction proceedings in New York State Courts. The Law and Appeals Bureau also assists the District Attorney and the Assistant District Attorneys in other bureaus with legal research and strategy, and in keeping up to date with changes in the law.

The Law and Appeals Bureau typically handles the following types of cases:

• Responses to briefs filed by defendants in the Court of Appeals, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and County Court.

• The People’s Case on appeal in instances where this Office brings an appeal to the Court of Appeals, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, or County Court.

• Making or responding to applications for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeals from decisions by an intermediate appellate court.

• Responses to motions to vacate a conviction (CPL 440.10).

• Responses to motions to set aside a sentence (CPL 440.20).

• Responses to motions for permission to appeal from the denial of a motion to vacate a conviction or set aside a sentence.

• Responses to motions seeking a Writ of Error Coram Nobis permitting a new appeal on the grounds of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel.

• Responses to applications for post-conviction disclosure of pre-sentence reports.
• Responses for motions seeking permission to file late Notices of Appeal.

The Municipal Court Bureau (MCB) encompasses City, Town and Village Courts. MCB oversees all misdemeanor, violation and traffic prosecutions in the local courts.  City Court is staffed fulltime by seven (7) Assistant District Attorneys.  Town and Village Courts are attended by Assistant District Attorneys for hearings and trials as needed.

City Court

Syracuse City Court is divided into eight parts. Judges are assigned to each part and rotate every two weeks.

• Part 1- Civil
• Part 2- Domestic Violence Court and Drug calendar
• Part 3- Traffic
• Part 4- Arraignments
• Part 5- Preliminary Hearings
• Part 6- County Court
• Part 7- Trial Part
• Part 8- Trial Part

The primary responsibility of MCB Assistant District Attorneys is to handle, from start to finish, all assigned misdemeanor and violation cases. Write-in traffic mail and email received by the District Attorney’s Office is also handled by MCB.  All arraignments (felonies, misdemeanors and violations, and warrants) are handled in the morning in Part 4 by MCB Assistant District Attorneys, and at CAP (Centralized Arraignment Parts) court in the evening, 365 days per year.

Along with traditional criminal case calendars, City Court has several specialized courts. They include: Domestic Violence Court, Syracuse Community Treatment Court, C.A.R.E. (Court for Addiction Recovery and Education) Court, Veterans Court, Human Trafficking Court, Animal Abuse Court, and Recovery Court.

City Court also handles felony preliminary hearings, returned felony calendars and felony day calendar.

Local Courts

There are approximately 26 Town and Village Courts in Onondaga County.  Half of the Assistant District Attorneys are assigned to up to two local courts to handle all hearings and trials in that particular court. This includes felony preliminary hearings.

This Bureau is responsible for the prosecution of all narcotics-related cases as well as those involving illegal gambling and vice-type cases. Along with the traditional prosecutorial responsibilities, the Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) assigned to this bureau handle many investigations from low level street dealing to high level electronic eavesdropping cases.

The Bureau also is involved in the debriefing of cooperating defendants, which requires a written Debriefing Agreement and working closely with the law enforcement agency involved in that particular matter. All ADAs in the Bureau handle a varied case load and are expected to maintain contact with law enforcement personnel, as well as be available to consult with law enforcement in both narcotics cases and other type cases as it relates to legal matters, the majority of which concern search warrants and warrantless search situations. This is not only done in the practical settings, but also in the classroom setting where many ADAs of the Bureau have lectured on the various search issues that confront law enforcement.

In 1992, District Attorney Fitzpatrick created the Special Victims Bureau to handle cases involving child sexual and physical abuse, sexual assaults against adults, and domestic violence. The mission of the Bureau is to hold accountable perpetrators of the system’s most sensitive crimes, while at the same time treating the victim with sensitivity, dignity and respect. This mission starts with ensuring that all Assistant District Attorneys and Investigators assigned to the bureau are experienced and properly trained. A large volume of these cases occur within the family setting. The inherent dynamics of interfamilial cases make them exceptionally challenging. Assistant District Attorneys in the Special Victims Bureau and Municipal Court Bureau who are assigned to prosecute domestic violence, child abuse or sexual assault cases are often required to act as victim advocates and counselors as well as prosecutors.