Leslie Crocker Snyder

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Political Party:
Democratic Party

http://snyderforda.com

Candidate Submitted Biography:

LESLIE CROCKER SNYDER

Retired Justice of the New York State Supreme Court Leslie Crocker Snyder
is a nationally recognized leader in the fight against crime, having spent
35 years protecting New Yorkers as a prosecutor, judge and devoted public
servant.

As an Assistant District Attorney, Judge Snyder was the first woman in the
New York County District Attorney’s office to try both felony and homicide
cases. During her nine years in the office, she founded and led the Sex
Crimes Prosecution Bureau, the first in the nation and a model throughout
the country. Additionally, she is the co-author of legislation including
New York’s Rape Shield Law and other reforms of the Penal Law.

After leaving the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Judge Snyder
became a Special Assistant Attorney General, prosecuting corruption in the
criminal justice system. She then went into private practice for three
years before returning to public service by becoming Deputy Criminal
Justice Coordinator and head of the Arson Strike Force at the Office of
the New York City Criminal Justice Coordinator.

In 1983, Judge Snyder was appointed as a Judge to the Criminal Court of
New York City. Subsequently, she was appointed to the New York State
Supreme Court and the Court of Claims. Judge Snyder presided primarily
over the highest level “A-1” multiple defendant narcotics felonies, drug
gangs, organized crime and “white collar” criminal cases. She presided
over the trials of New York City’s most violent drug gangs: the “Gheri
Curls,” the “Wild Cowboys,” the “Young Talented Children” and the “Natural
Born Killers,” among others. She also presided over the carting or
“Garbage” case, which led to the reform of the private sanitation industry
in New York City.

While on the bench, Judge Snyder adopted a public school for ten years to
provide students with a hands-on introduction to the legal process. A
committed community advocate, Leslie is a board member of the Kips Bay
Boys’ and Girls’ Club, D.A.R.E., and the holistic rehabilitation program
Abraham House. She spent 6 months in 2007 on a Justice Department Grant,
prosecuting career violent felons in New Orleans and assisting the
criminal justice system there with post-Katrina problems.

Judge Snyder is the recipient of many awards, including The
Hogan-Morgenthau Award, The Florence Allen Award, The Radcliffe College
Distinguished Alumnae Award, The Abraham House ‘Justice and Compassion
Award’ and The Frank S. Hogan Associates Award. Most recently, in 2007,
Judge Snyder received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition
of her achievements in the field of criminal justice.

Judge Snyder is the author of “25 to Life” and is currently a partner at
Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP. She has appeared on numerous
television news and documentary programs and has been profiled in several,
such as “60 Minutes.”

She is married to retired pediatrician and artist Fred Snyder. They have
two grown sons.

Manhattan District Attorney Survey: Leslie Crocker Snyder

Question 1:
Please explain your legal philosophy in regard to the prosecution and prevention of vehicular crimes. How does your position, if at all, differ from that of the current office of the Manhattan District Attorney.

The current DA's Office has taken great steps in making our streets safer, most significantly by creating a dedicated Vehicular Crimes Unit to help ADAs investigate and prosecute DWI cases. Curbing dangerous behavior before it becomes lethal by charging the most egregious speeders with reckless driving instead of simply writing a ticket is important.  There should also be laws providing greater penalties for repeat offenders.
Another issue is with the "Rule of Two," which presumes a driver must have committed two simultaneous traffic violations in order to be charged with criminally negligent homicide.  This is too narrow a standard for a prosecutor to employ when dealing with complex situations.  Traffic accidents include uniquely technical and circumstantial factors that must be considered entirely and on a case-by-case basis.  Using this “totality of the circumstances” standard, prosecutors can better determine criminal liability, and on whom it should fall.
It's crucial that the DA’s office obtain all evidence to ensure a proper investigation and prosecution of each case.  EDR's are present in most vehicles and can provide investigators with crash statistics that a traditional investigation may not.  There are still issues with this technology but I believe we must do everything in our power to get this data in the hands of investigators and prosecutors.  We have to take proper precautions to make certain that reckless drivers do not escape their criminal liability.


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Question 2:
The Bronx and Brooklyn district attorney offices have a Bureau Chief position to oversee vehicular crimes. Do you believe this position is important/necessary and why/why not?

I think it is extremely important that Manhattan has both a dedicated Vehicular Crimes Unit, as well as a Bureau Chief to oversee its operation. Both the Bronx and Brooklyn Bureau Chiefs have done excellent jobs in terms of developing programs and initiatives to combat vehicular crime in their respective counties. In the Bronx, they cooperated with the Department of Transportation to implement the Stop DWI Program, which helps fight drunk driving through public education and provides necessary funding to law enforcement. The Brooklyn Bureau created the Choices & Consequences Program, which prevents teenage drunk driving and reckless driving through education. Most importantly, though, we need a Bureau Chief to ensure that the Bureau is bringing together the specialized training and experience of its members to most effectively investigate and prosecute every vehicular crime. You simply cannot have a truly successful investigative and prosecutorial bureau, like the Vehicular Crimes Unit, without someone to coordinate the efforts of police and prosecutors.


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Question 3:
Data from the State DMV and City DOT show that speeding contributes to roughly 2,400 motor vehicle crashes in New York City each year, nearly three times the number attributed to drunk driving. Would your office proactively work with the NYPD to reduce these types of dangerous driving behavior?

Yes, absolutely. Speeding not only affects the likelihood of an accident occurring, but it also affects how fatal an accident will be. A study conducted by your organization, Transportation Alternatives, indicates that 40% of pedestrians struck by cars traveling at 30 miles per hour are killed, and 70% of pedestrians die when struck by a car traveling more than 40 miles per hour. The NYPD should expand its efforts to issue tickets for speeding violations. Installing speed cameras would help identify drivers violating the speed limit in an efficient and fair way.

Speeding is not the only dangerous driving behavior the NYPD should address; driver inattentiveness contributes to a significant number of accidents as well. Cell phone use is a common distraction that the NYPD should continue to discourage and deter.

As DA, I pledge to work with the NYPD to raise public awareness of the dangers of speeding and of distracted driving. This public awareness campaign will be similar to prior campaigns warning against drunk driving and encouraging the use of seat belts.


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Question 4:
Where appropriate, would your office pursue state-wide legislative reforms in the area of vehicular crimes?

Yes. The DA's Office is in a unique position to identify areas of the law that need improvement. The law needs to not only respond to new trends in crime and law enforcement, but to the challenges presented by new technology as well.

While the law prohibits talking on a cell phone while driving, there is no law prohibiting text messaging while driving. This is extremely dangerous because the driver not only needs to look at a handheld device, but must take one or both hands off of the wheel to type. Distractions can come from the car itself, as new models are equipped with display screens. Thankfully, the New York State Legislature is considering bills addressing these threats to public safety. The Manhattan DAs Office should support these bills and propose similar reforms in the future.


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Question 5:
What efforts, if any, would your office undertake to increase the penalties attached to the offense(s) of vehicular homicide and/or assault in instances where drugs or alcohol are not present?

As District Attorney I would expand on the office’s current Vehicular Crimes Unit and appoint a Bureau Chief, as has been done in Brooklyn and the Bronx. This unit would work closely with the police department to ensure that all laws are being enforced correctly and that proper investigations are conducted, regardless of whether drugs and alcohol are involved. Enforcing all laws, including those intended for cyclists and pedestrians, will increase safety for everyone.

I will examine the current laws closely and take action to increase and change penalties where appropriate. I will look into creative options such as implementing a sliding scale model for certain violations like speeding and driving with a suspended license. Implementing stricter penalties and consequences will increase the deterrent factor, which will in turn decrease vehicular crimes.

Educating the Assistant District Attorneys in the appropriate statutory and case law will help eliminate the impact of the “rule of two” and will ensure that all cases that should be prosecuted are prosecuted.


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Question 6:
Please explain your view of the "Rule of Two" and how it may affect your office's handling of vehicular homicide cases. In particular, the offense of Criminally Negligent Homicide.

The "Rule of Two" has resulted in hesitancy to prosecute vehicular homicides in which speed alone appears to be the cause. This leaves, bikers, pedestrians, victims, and their families feeling unprotected or further victimized by the system.

The Rule of Two certainly should not bar prosecution or prevent convictions where an accident results in death simply because the driver was “just” speeding. There should be an investigation and appropriate action -- including prosecution where warranted -- whenever there is a loss of life.

With the help of a Bureau Chief in charge of vehicular crimes, each case will be examined individually and a determination will be made based on the facts of that case. We will also look into having prosecutors on call to respond to the scene of any automobile accident in which someone is killed to do an investigation independent of the NYPD.

I look forward to working with your organization to raise awareness of the concerns of pedestrians and bikers and to educate Assistant District Attorneys in the appropriate statutory and case law, especially that of criminally negligent homicide.


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Submitted by LCS on Sun, 08/09/2009 - 20:02.
Submitted by LCS on Wed, 07/15/2009 - 10:48.