CHARLES J.
HYNES
1990 to PRESENTOn November 3, 2009, Charles J. Hynes was re-elected to his sixth term as the District Attorney of Kings County (Brooklyn), New York. The District Attorney began his career in public service in 1963 as an associate attorney for the Legal Aid Society. In 1969, he joined the Kings County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney. In 1971, he was named Chief of the Rackets Bureau, and in 1973, he was promoted to First Assistant District Attorney. In 1975, Governor Hugh Carey and Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz appointed Mr. Hynes Special State Prosecutor to investigate nursing home fraud. District Attorney Hynes was elected the first president of the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units in 1976. Today, 47 states have Medicaid fraud control units. In 1980, Mayor Edward I. Koch appointed Mr. Hynes Fire Commissioner of New York City. He served as a Commissioner for the New York State Commission of Investigation between 1983 and 1985 by appointment of New York State Assembly Speaker Stanley Fink. In 1985, Governor Mario Cuomo appointed District Attorney Hynes Special State Prosecutor for the New York City Criminal Justice System. In 1987, the District Attorney became the center of national attention when Governor Cuomo called on him to investigate the murder of Michael Griffith in Howard Beach, Queens. As the Special Prosecutor and Chief Trial Attorney in that case, Mr. Hynes led the investigation and prosecution which resulted in three homicide convictions. In 1990, as District Attorney of Brooklyn, Mr. Hynes pioneered many innovative criminal justice strategies. He created one of the first comprehensive domestic violence bureaus in the country and worked with court administrators to establish one of the first domestic violence court parts in New York State. In 2005, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and District Attorney Hynes initiated a United States Department of Justice-funded Family Justice Center – a one stop shop providing services for the victims of domestic violence and their surviving children. The Center is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Hynes’ mother, Regina Katherine Drew, herself a victim of domestic violence. District Attorney Hynes created one of the first Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison (DTAP) programs for chronic drug offenders in the country. DTAP has rehabilitated hundreds of non-violent drug addicts and has become a model for the nation. District Attorney Hynes went on to form a Crimes Against Children Bureau to bring special expertise to child abuse cases and a School Advocacy Bureau to handle cases that arise in schools or on school grounds. He created a faith-based mentoring program called Youth and Congregation in Partnership (YCP) to provide support to court-involved youth from members of Brooklyn’s churches, mosques and synagogues. He instituted an adopt-a-school program (Legal Lives) to teach fifth graders about the criminal justice system, and a truancy reduction program (Truancy Reduction Alliance to Contact Kids – TRACK) which has now been replicated throughout New York City. In 1999, Mr. Hynes created the ComALERT (Community And Law Enforcement Resources Together) public safety program which supports individuals on probation or parole as they re-enter their Brooklyn communities. The program was validated by a Harvard University study which found it reduced recidivism by more than half. In 2005, District Attorney Hynes created the Girls Re-entry Assistance Support Program (GRASP). GRASP is specifically designed to meet the needs of young women between the ages of 13 and 25 who are returning to the community after placement in a juvenile or adult correctional facility. In the fall of 2008, Mr. Hynes created a first-of-its-kind, alternative-to-prison program for female defendants convicted of a felony and their children. At Drew House, children are permitted to reside with their mothers while the women serve out their court mandates in a secure, community-based residential setting. All receive intensive, trauma-focused rehabilitative services. District Attorney Hynes is a proud and life-long resident of Brooklyn where he was born and raised in the Flatbush section. He met his wife, Patricia L. Pennisi, a registered nurse, while they were undergraduate students. He attended St. John’s University while she studied nursing at Kings County Hospital. They are parents of five children and grandparents to sixteen grandchildren. Since 1983 and until his retirement from the Board this past year, Mr. Hynes served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the New York State Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. In 2005, the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association presented Mr. Hynes with their “Minister of Justice Award,” and in 2006 Mr. Hynes was appointed by the ABA President to serve on the Commission on Effective Criminal Sanctions for a term of two years. This past year, Mr. Hynes was elected Chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the ABA. In 2008, he received the American Bar Association Award, “Lawyer as Problem Solver,” and the “Cyrus R. Vance Tribute” from The Fund for Modern Courts. In 2009, he was presented with the Diversity Championship Award by The New York City Bar Association. District Attorney Hynes served as New York State Director on the Board of the National District Attorneys Association from 1993 until 2007, when he was elected Vice President of the Association. Mr. Hynes has co-authored and published “Incident at Howard Beach: The Case for Murder” and has contributed to another book, “The Regulation of Nursing Homes: A Case Study.” In June of 2007, St. Martin’s Press, Thomas Dunne Imprint, published Mr. Hynes’ first novel, “Triple Homicide.” Mr. Hynes continues to demonstrate his commitment to public service and education by serving as an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at three New York City Law Schools. He was appointed to both St. John’s and Brooklyn Law School in 1984, and Fordham University Law School in 1992.
|