Albany lawyer takes over as top federal public defender for Upstate NY

Syracuse, N.Y. — A new top public defender has been named for the federal court that covers much of Upstate New York, including Syracuse.

Eric Schillinger will take over Dec. 1 as the federal public defender for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, which includes 32 counties in Upstate New York.

He was appointed to a four-year term by the appeals court that covers the Northern District, the Second Circuit, which is based in Manhattan.

Schillinger will succeed Lisa Peebles, who is retiring after a decades-long career. She joined the public defender’s office in 1999 and has led it since 2010.

The public defender’s office provides a lawyer to people who cannot afford one. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires anyone charged with a crime to have a defense lawyer.

Schillinger graduated from SUNY Geneseo and Albany Law School. He has spent his career in the Capital District, including running his own firm, Schillinger & Associates, for 12 years. He joined the public defender’s office last year.

Schillinger, 44, of Albany, said he plans to remain in Albany with his wife and children. He anticipates traveling frequently to the public defender’s office in Syracuse. Peebles has been based in Syracuse.

Clients represented by the public defender’s office are up against a team of prosecutors led by Acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III.

Sarcone has attracted controversy since he was appointed as top prosecutor in March on an interim basis. A panel of judges declined to extend his tenure, but the Trump administration used a novel strategy to try to keep him in office.

The administration has used the strategy, which circumvents the U.S. Senate confirmation process, with other U.S. attorneys across the country. Judges have found it unlawful three times, disqualifying prosecutors in New Jersey, Nevada and Los Angeles.

Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, who is under investigation by Sarcone’s office, recently filed a motion challenging whether he is legally in his job. A downstate judge is reviewing that motion.

Schillinger said it is under “active consideration” for the public defender’s office to file its own challenge. He declined to speak in further detail.

Many of the cases brought by Sarcone’s office have been related to immigration enforcement and child pornography.

Schillinger said it isn’t unusual to see an increase or a decrease in the types of cases prosecutors decide to bring.

“I think that we’re in a time where they have decided to focus on certain priorities, and the types of cases that are being made are certain types of cases now,” he said. “And there may be other cases that they decide to pursue at a later date.”

Many criminal cases are resolved with a plea agreement, but some defendants decide to go to trial. In an unusual twist, two juries deadlocked earlier this year on whether to convict a Honduran woman of an immigration felony.

Schillinger said he has spoken with the two Syracuse-based public defenders who worked on that case. He enjoys bringing cases to trial, but said it’s up to the client to decide whether to do so.

“You really do have to consider each client individually,” he said. “I’d be happy to do whatever my client needs me to do for them.”

While in law school, Schillinger tried his hand at practicing various kinds of law. He said he realized indigent defense was for him while doing an internship that had him in Rensselaer City Court.

“There was a line of people who needed help,” he said. “Seeing the relief on their faces, and really helping them, was something that stuck with me.”