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County Executive Testimony Transcript
Public Hearing on the 2007-2008 Executive Budget Public Protection
Michael G. Breslin, Albany County Executive
February 14, 2007
Before the New York State Senate Committee on Finance & the New York State Assembly Committee on Ways and Means
My name is Michael Breslin and I am the Albany County Executive. Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today. As you know, the legal obligation to provide defense counsel to lower income people has roots dating back over 40 years to the case of Gideon v. Wainwright. It was in that case that the United States Supreme Court rightly focused on the issue of access to, and quality of, legal representation in all cases in which there is a right to counsel - regardless of ability to pay. Indeed, that case marked a cornerstone of American jurisprudence to which I am personally and professionally deeply committed.…
