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NDAA President Paul F. Walsh receives the presidential gavel from outgoing president Robert P. McCulloch.
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United States and Canada: Partners in Crime-Fighting
In the splendor of the Pacific Rim, Paul F. Walsh, Jr., district attorney of Bristol County (New Bedford), Massachusetts, took office as NDAA’s 53rd president at the association’s summer conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. The conference theme was “United States and Canada: Partners in Crime-Fighting,” and it marked only the second time that the summer conference has taken place outside the United States.
In his remarks after receiving the symbolic presidential gavel from outgoing president Robert P. McCulloch, President Walsh praised America’s prosecutors as paradigms of heroism.
“We live in dangerous times,” he said, “I think we have a thirst for heroes,” citing such examples as the New York City firemen who rushed into the burning World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, “exposing their own lives to save the lives of others.”
Deploring the tendency to “mistake celebrities for heroes,” he said, “the prosecutors of our communities, I believe, are true heroes. We have opportunities … every single day, when we step into a courthouse, to be a hero in someone’s life. You sit on some hard, cold bench and look into the eyes of a woman who got beat up the night before by her alcoholic boyfriend. You sit with a broken-hearted woman whose child was molested. They look to you to be a hero in their lives. You talk to a senior citizen whose life savings have been ripped off by some scam. He’s looking for a hero. He’s looking at you. It’s here and it’s now and it’s in the courthouses of our country that these opportunities for heroism present themselves.”
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Paul Walsh named a number of NDAA members as examples of modern-day heroes. Among them were the three Connecticut prosecutors -- Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Gill, State’s Attorney Jonathan Benedict and Chief State’s Attorney Christopher Morano.
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He named a number of NDAA members, including several who were present, as examples of modern-day heroes. Among them were the three Connecticut prosecutors: Chief State’s Attorney Christopher Morano, State’s Attorney Jonathan Benedict of Bridgeport and Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Gill—who successfully brought about the conviction of Michael Skakel in the 27-year-old case of the murder of Skakel’s then 15-year-old neighbor Martha Moxley; Jerry M. Blair, state attorney of Florida’s Third Judicial Circuit, who successfully prosecuted serial killer Ted Bundy; Robert F. Horan, Jr., Fairfax County, Virginia, commonwealth’s attorney, one of two Virginia commonwealth’s attorneys who obtained capital murder convictions in the Washington, DC, sniper cases; retiring NDAA executive director Newman Flanagan, who President Walsh said, “for 40 years has devoted his energies to the service of prosecutors and has brought this association to where it is today,” and outgoing president Bob McCulloch, who overcame a serious physical disability to become a successful prosecutor, whose qualities of leadership and dedication were recognized when he was elected president of NDAA.
“We can and should be heroes for the people we serve,” President Walsh said, cautioning, “Let’s face it. You can’t be heroic if you go into court … and lose cases. So while you are here at this conference, take this opportunity to learn something, improve your skills, to learn your craft, to make a connection that will make you a better prosecutor when you return to your jurisdiction, that will make you better able to be a hero to the victims of crime. So that when you go back to your jurisdiction you will have taken something of value, and when you fight those battles every day, this conference will have been important to you.”
President Walsh presented Bob McCulloch with a President’s Award scroll, which commended McCulloch for his achievements during his presidency. The citation stated, in part, “There’s a touch of the leprechaun in Bob McCulloch, and that has helped him, and us, through more than one difficult period during his presidential year. Bob took the responsibilities of his office very seriously, and applied his wisdom, dedication, experience and powers of persuasion with skill. But he did not take himself seriously. And the result was a productive and—it also can be said—an enjoyable year for this association, despite some challenging situations.”
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| Retiring NDAA Executive Director Newman Flanagan, who President Walsh said, “for 40 years has devoted his energies to the service to prosecutors and has brought this association to where it is today." |
Prior to President Walsh’s speech, outgoing president McCulloch read and presented to retiring executive director Newman Flanagan a copy of a statement made by Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) on the floor of the U.S. Senate, commending Flanagan for his distinguished career in prosecution in Boston and with NDAA. The statement was inserted into the Congressional Record.
During the luncheon session, Dr. Randall Lockwood, a vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, presented David Hoovler, assistant DA of Orange County, NY, with an award for his successful prosecution of a dog-fighting contest promoter.
2004-2005 Executive Committee
President Walsh named the following to his Executive Committee:
Robert P. McCulloch, board chairman, immediate past-president and prosecuting attorney of St. Louis County, Missouri; Paul A. Logli, president-elect and state’s attorney of Winnebago County (Rockford), Illinois; Suzanne McClain Atwood, executive coordinator, Oklahoma District Attorneys Council; Daniel Conley, district attorney, Suffolk County (Boston), Massachusetts; James P. Fox, district attorney, San Mateo County (Redwood City), California; Mary Galvin, state’s attorney, Ansonia-Milford Judicial district (Milford), Connecticut and NDAA assistant treasurer; Robert Honecker, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor (Freehold), New Jersey; Robert M.A. Johnson, Anoka County attorney (Anoka), Minnesota; John P. Sarcone, Polk County attorney (Des Moines), Iowa; and Joseph I. Cassilly, NDAA treasurer and state’s attorney of Harford County (Bel Air), Maryland.
The Program
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Opening day keynote speaker was John P. Walters, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.
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The opening day keynote speaker was John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In a reference to the international character of the NDAA summer conference, he declared, “A close relationship between the United States and Canada is crucial (in dealing with the global drug problem) and I intend to strengthen it and to encourage continued cooperation.”
To emphasize the importance of such cooperation, he reported, “We are seeing much larger seizures (of drugs) at the border. It used to be backpackers with less than 100 pounds (of illegal drugs). In the last few months alone, there have been multiple 1,000-pound seizures.”
He expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Operation Mountain Express, which began in 2000, and within a year resulted in seizures of more than 30 tons of pseudoephedrine, 181 pounds of methamphetamine, $16 million in U.S. cash and more than 300 arrests.
Session topics included Gangs and Violent Crime; the Future of Prosecution; Identity Theft and Telemarketing Fraud; Prosecuting High Profile Cases; Prosecuting Drug Cases: Investigation, Pretrial Issues and Trial Concerns; Child Pornography and Internet Crimes Against Children.
There was also a dual-track program that included, Overcoming the Consent Defense in Sexual Assault Cases; Personnel Recruitment and Orientation; Prosecutors on the Defensive: Ethical Issues; Supervisory and Personnel Problems; Community Outreach Programs; Networking: Gangs, Drugs and Violent Crimes; and International Issues in Victim Assistance.
In a farewell tribute prior to the conference, retiring Executive Director Newman Flanagan was honored at a testimonial, which featured remarks by his colleagues and a slide show covering the highlights of his life and career.
Highlights of the Board of Directors Meeting
Paul A. Logli, state’s attorney of Winnebago County (Rockford), Illinois, was elected president-elect.
Other Officers Elected
Vice Presidents (elected for three-year terms): Arthur D. Curtis, prosecuting attorney of Clark County (Vancouver), Washington state; Henry L. Garza, district attorney, Bell County (Belton), Texas; John P. Sarcone, county attorney, Polk County (Des Moines), Iowa.
Secretary: David L. Landefeld, prosecuting attorney, Fairfield County (Lancaster), Ohio.
Assistant Secretary: Stephanie Anderson, district attorney, Cumberland County (Portland), Maine.
Treasurer: Joseph I. Cassilly, state’s attorney, Harford County (Bel Air), Maryland.
Assistant Treasurer: Mary Galvin, state’s attorney, Ansonia-Milford Judicial District (Milford), Connecticut.
Directors-at-Large: Kevin J Baxter, prosecuting attorney, Erie County (Sandusky), Ohio; Daniel Conley, district attorney, Suffolk County (Boston), Massachusetts; Jamie Esparza, district attorney, 34th Judicial District (El Paso), Texas; Wes Lane, district attorney, Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City), Oklahoma; Frank Weathersbee, state’s attorney, Anne Arundel County (Annapolis), Maryland.
New Directors Seated
California: David Paulson, district attorney, Solano County (Fairfield).
Mississippi: Ronnie L. Harper, district attorney, Sixth Judicial District (Natchez).
New Mexico: Donald Gallegos, district attorney, Eighth Judicial District (Taos).
Ohio: Julia Bates, prosecuting attorney, Lucas County (Toledo).
South Dakota: Michael R. Moore, state’s attorney, Beadle County (Huron).
National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators (NAPC): Bob McMahan, prosecutor coordinator, Arkansas, and president of NAPC.
Among Other Actions by the Board
The Board adopted a resolution supporting the re-authorization and funding of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.
The 2005 NDAA Summer Conference will take place July 18-20 in Portland, Maine, at the Holiday Inn—Portland By the Bay Hotel & Conference Center.
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