William J. Fitzpatrick Our District Attorney

This column is about an extraordinary and elite individual. Syracuse is indeed fortunate to not only have this kind of elite leadership but to have it for over three decades. Our District Attorney, Bill Fitzpatrick has created a history of excellence and has fostered an elite atmosphere causing the finest District Attorney’s office in the Country. His expertise in this vital office has influenced excellence throughout the legal community and has made Syracuse and Onondaga County among the fairest and finest run legal systems in the Country.

My family arrived in Syracuse in 1956 from Hyde Park, New York. I was 10 years old. My Dad was armed with letters and references signed by Eleanor Roosevelt. He was a manufacturing jeweler and clockmaker and went to work for Henry Wilson Jewelers. Donald Howe Mead was the Mayor of Syracuse. Arthur W. Wilson was the District Attorney. I have borne witness to the finest individuals that Syracuse has produced for nearly ¾ of a century. The guideposts for me are elite professionalism, decency, achievement and above all compassion. Too seldom do we run across individuals that exemplify the finest that we can be and represent each of these traits in the finest ways. Bill Fitzpatrick is such an individual.     

I have known the DA for 45 years. I have witnessed his extraordinary journey. There is a compendium of achievements on his website that make clear his elite nature. I urge you to take a look. Here are a few excerpts:

The District Attorney served as President of the New York State District Attorneys’ Association. He is a member of the Onondaga County and New York State Bar Associations and he has been a member of the National District Attorney’s Association since 1984. He is currently the Association’s Chair of the Committee on Fair & Ethical Administration of Justice.

The NYS DA’s Association awarded our DA the Prosecutor of the Year award in 2003. The NYS Bar Association named him Outstanding Prosecutor in 2005. (CFEAJ).  In 2007 Fitzpatrick was appointed New York State Representative to the National District Attorney’s Association and was sworn in as President in July 2015. Currently, he serves as a member of the NDAA Executive Committee.

New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman appointed DA Fitzpatrick in 2010 to the New York State Permanent Sentencing Commission. The Commission’s task is to examine New York State’s sentencing laws and policies on an ongoing basis and make the appropriate recommendations.  

The DA is extremely active in his community and has been involved with Vera House Foundation (a shelter for battered women), McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center, the Ronald McDonald House, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and several other community groups.

As mentioned, I have witnessed the finest of Syracuse. Frank Caruso, Danny Bland and Paul Serbun Jr. and Sr. (1960’s and 1970’s) awesome cops that set the standard and police legends and I am honored to say friends. I have known many great Syracuse cops over my 67 years of working and living downtown. In the Sheriff’s Department, Packy Corbett, John Dillon and Kevin Walsh set standards of leadership that caused a professionalism that is with us today. I digress, but I want you to know I have been here, I have witnessed. And my reasoning and judgment are qualified. 

Our District Attorney’s office was built by Bill Fitzpatrick. Over 30 years of hiring the best there is, this office has become a reflection of this unique and extraordinary man. This has resulted in the finest that we can be in one vital office. A District Attorney’s office that renders service to the people with honor, courage, justice and compassion. A District Attorney’s office that does this in the very finest traditions of American Law Enforcement.

In Onondaga County this leadership, over 3 decades has influenced the forging of the finest legal systems in America embracing not only the District Attorney’s Office but the Courts and the Sherriff’s and Police departments. Today these leaders set the standard for law enforcement to follow throughout our land. They provide a beacon for all to live up to. This atmosphere fostered a police environment in Syracuse replete with the finest officers you will find anywhere. These cops walk tall because they are the best.

As I briefly describe just a few of the DA’s favorite programs please keep in mind that a program is only as good as those that implement and guide them. In Syracuse these programs are guided by the District Attorney and the finest Assistant District Attorneys and supporting staff in the entire country. Please visit the DA’s website for more information on these vital programs.

Cyber Justice

The Cyber Justice Program is a diversionary program designed to teach youthful offenders about the legal and societal consequences of sexting and cyber-bullying via the internet and other forms of electronic communication. Participants are required to attend a class. Referrals may be made by police agencies, school officials, and courts. 

Leandra’s Law and the Ignition Interlock Program

On November 18, 2009, Leandra’s Law was signed into law in honor of Leandra Rosado. Leandra was an 11-year-old killed while she rode in a vehicle with the intoxicated mother of one of her friends. The law established a new Class E Felony. The law states that no person shall operate a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs while a child who is 15 years of age or younger is a passenger in the vehicle. A court must sentence a person convicted of either Aggravated DWI/Child in Vehicle or Aggravated DWI/Driving with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .18 or more to a period of probation or to a conditional discharge. The court must require the installation and use of an ignition interlock device in any motor vehicle owned or operated by a person convicted under this law. 

Project Safe-Schools

Readers: The insight of Project Safe-Schools is vital and deeply important. Kids live today because of this program.

In 1995, District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick initiated Project Safe-Schools to help identify students who are bringing weapons into schools. The program was designed to give students an avenue to offer anonymous information regarding other students who are in possession of any type of weapon (i.e. gun, knife, box cutter). The District Attorney’s office will give a monetary reward between $25.00 and $200.00 to the student(s) who provided information, depending on the quality of information received, the type of weapon seized, and/or the criminal activity involved. No taxpayer funds are used as these rewards are paid with money forfeited from convicted drug dealers.

Real Internet Safety for Kids (R.I.S.K.)

Real Internet Safety for Kids (R.I.S.K.) is a presentation offered to schools for students in grades 6th-12th. It focuses on the consequences of inappropriate practices involving the use of social media and other forms of electronic communication. The program is designed to educate young people on how certain types of communication (i.e. sexting, cyber-bullying, using strong language, hurtful messages, or sending or possessing inappropriate pictures of themselves or others) can have long lasting consequences, including societal impact, school disciplinary action, and possibly criminal charges. It also addresses the need for students to be aware of online predators.

This column is a small reflection of this unusually good and elite man. His decades of one on ones with kids and those that demonstrate remorse and a desire to repair and do well are not recorded and yet so many have wonderful lives because of this.

For over 30 years, the finest an individual can be has set the standards within the District Attorney’s office. He hired our best and taught with example and integrity. He taught our best to be the best. Each and every day this elite individual influenced the finest performance that can be with justice and fairness at the forefront. So, when you hear the “The Finest District Attorney’s Office in the Country” The DA, William J. Fitzpatrick and his elite staff are why.

Bill McClellan