Press release:
Two distinguished speakers will discuss their careers in the legal field during the second annual Law Day program at Genesee Community College.
Acting State Supreme Court Justice Robert C. Noonan and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York William Hochul Jr. will visit the Batavia campus on Wednesday, May 2 during the week of festivities to welcome new President James Sunser, EdD.
The Law Day program begins at 9 a.m. and is intended to help high school seniors enrolled in the Legal Careers Academy of the Accelerated College Enrollment program (ACE) and Criminal Justice students gain a better understanding of the importance of the judicial system, with the speakers addressing the theme "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom."
Noonan, acting State Supreme Court justice since 2001, is also an elected Genesee County Superior Court judge and surrogate since 1997.
His law career has spanned almost four decades, including presiding as a judge at various court levels and serving as district attorney and assistant DA in Genesee County and special district attorney in dozens of criminal and civil cases in Genesee, Orleans, Livingston and Monroe counties.
A Batavia native, Justice Noonan was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1976, after earning his J.D. from Fordham Law School. He has served on various bar association advisory councils and panels and is certified to hear capital murder cases in New York. Judge Noonan has also handled more than 100 appeals before the state's Appellate Division courts and argued several cases before the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state.
He is also a highly sought-after speaker, presenting lectures on the Supreme Court, trial practices, and various state laws and procedures. The jurist has also been an active member of several community organizations, including the Batavia Rotary Club, the St. Jerome Hospital Board and Camp Stella Maris.
Justice Noonan will discuss criminal court proceedings, with an explanation of how the courts strive to protect American rights and ensure justice for all. He will also take part in a question-and-answer session immediately following his lecture.
Hochul, as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York State, is responsible for overseeing the prosecution of any federal criminal case in the 17 counties that comprise the district.
He earned his law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and joined the local U.S. Attorney's Office in 1991. Since then, he has prosecuted a large number of notorious cases involving whitecollar crime, gang violence, and international organized crime.
Hochul became chief of the office's Anti-Terrorism Unit after September 11, 2001, and chief of the National Security Division five years later. During that time, he was the lead prosecutor in several high-profile international terrorism cases, including the notorious Lackawanna Six from the Buffalo-area.
He has also served as an adjunct professor at U.B. Law School, Niagara University and Hilbert College, where he taught courses on terrorism and trial techniques, and frequently lectures across the U.S. and abroad on prosecuting cases involving terrorism and organized crime. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2003 Attorneys General Award for Exceptional Service -- the highest award bestowed by the U.S. Justice Department.
Hochul's lecture will focus on the appellate process, with a Q-and-A to follow.
The Law Day program is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Debbie Dunlevy, project director of the College Tech Prep program at GCC at 343-0055, ext. 6316, or via email: DKDunlevy@genesee.edu.
