Republican lawmakers call her actions “unacceptable” and “potentially illegal,” Erie County’s top public defender says she was simply organizing a “non-partisan effort.”
The Erie County Legislature’s Republican Caucus called on Assigned Counsel Program Executive Director Michelle Parker to resign during a press conference Monday. They’ve also asked the state’s highest judge to investigative her conduct.
The lawmakers say that Parker, who has served as executive director for four years, misused the Assigned Counsel Program’s resources and attempted to coerce the attorneys who work as contractors for the program into attending an Erie County Democratic Committee fundraiser with four-figure entrance fees.
Parker maintains her innocence and says she was just trying to organize her fellow public defenders against a proposal from Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz to get rid of the county’s current independent public defense system in favor of a county-run public defense office.
“Her suggestion to Assigned Council Program participants that they should be politically involved and attend these high-dollar events based on their association with the program further undermines what should be a nonpartisan stance from the program,” Republican Legislator Lindsay Lorigo said. “These actions are a direct and clear violation of the rules and guidelines set by the Indigent Legal Services Board, compromising the integrity — not only of the Chief Defender Michelle Parker — but of the entire Assigned Counsel Program.”
The calls for resignation stem from an email Parker sent to a list of the program participants, all of them attorneys, in May. In that email, Parker suggests that the attorneys form a non-partisan political action committee (PAC) to stop Poloncarz’s proposed public defense shake-up. She also suggests that program participants attend “Chairman Zellner’s Council Luncheon,” a June 28 fundraiser for the Erie County Democratic Committee being held in downtown Buffalo. The cost of attendance is $2,000.
“If you cannot make it to the luncheon on Friday, June 28, would you consider drafting a check for a dollar amount that works for you, payable to the Erie County Democratic Committee, and mailing it to me,” Parker writes in a follow-up email sent on Sunday. “I will bring whatever donations come in with me to the event. Old-fashioned bundling.”
Lorigo said that second email caused several lawyers in the program to reach out to Republican Caucus, saying they felt coerced into making a donation.
“We have been contacted because they’re uncomfortable,” Lorigo said. “They’re concerned that their livelihood is a threat. They’re concerned that they will get the cases if they don’t make these sorts of large donations. It is something that’s concerning. We shouldn’t be politicizing our justice system. And this is exactly that.”
But Parker says that Republican legislators’ accusations are overblown. She says she didn’t use company money or send the emails on company time (she sent the first email from Florida), both of which would’ve violated the conditions of the program’s 501(c)(3) status. Screenshots of the emails indicate that they came from a personal email address, not a company account.
She says she just wanted to organize public defense attorneys around preserving the county’s independent public defense system. Those who freely decided to show up to the fundraiser — Parker insists she wasn’t trying to pressure anyone — could discuss creating a PAC.
“The proposal is to create a political action committee that would be nonpartisan. I mean, that word is in there," Parker said. "This isn't like independent public defense for Democrats. You know, it's a nonpartisan effort.”
Parker says donating to Democrats was a strategic move in a political landscape governed by the Citizens United case, not an ideological power play. Republicans had already expressed opposition to Poloncarz’s proposal, she said, so public defenders just needed to win over Democratic support.
“That's the reality,” Parker said. "The Democrats hold the majority, so if you’re going to be seen and heard on this, you got to be seen and heard by the majority.”
Zellner said in a statement that he and the Democratic Committee had "no involvement" in Parker's "email solicitation."
"The ethics of her actions are for others to assess," Zellner said.
Parker has donated over $37,000 dollars to political committees and candidates — the vast majority of them Democrats — in the last 10 years, according to records from the New York State Board of Elections. Those donations include $2,100 for Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Zellner, more than $16,000 to the county Democratic party itself and just under $7,000 to Poloncarz. Her most recent political donation came last May, when she gave $2,000 to the Erie County Democratic Committee.
The Republican caucus’ request for an investigation is now in the hands of New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan Wilson. There’s not much more the legislature can do except wait.
“It’s going to be up to him to remove her, and if she doesn’t get removed, she doesn’t get removed,” Republican Minority Leader John Mills said. “And [then] I guess we’re stuck with this egregious scenario.”
A spokesperson for Poloncarz didn’t respond to requests for comment. Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane declined to comment.
Editor's note: This article has been update to include comment from Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Jeremy Zellner.