Big changes coming

--at least the threat of big change is coming. The head dude of our agency, Ted, is finally retiring. Who will replace him is anyone's guess, but I really like Ted a lot and certainly he has been good for the agency. Our office is considered by many to be the premier appellate defender group in the country, so it is cool to be associated with it. Important points in my career thus far have been marked by a call from Ted telling me I did something good, or he is proud of my work--it will be wierd to have that gone. When someone like him compliments you, it carries a lot of weight since he has some of the best attorneys in the country working for him


October 17, 2007 Volume: 153 Issue: 204
Gottfried to step down as state appellate defender
By John Flynn Rooney
Law Bulletin staff writer

Theodore A. Gottfried, the first person to head the Office of the State Appellate Defender, will retire at year's end after steering the agency through sometimes troubled waters over 35 years.

Gottfried said Wednesday that he recently sent a letter to Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas informing the high court of his plan to retire on Dec. 31. As provided under state law, the Supreme Court will appoint Gottfried's replacement.

Thomas said in a statement Wednesday that Gottfried ''has been an outstanding steward of the appellate defender's office.''
Colleagues and friends credited Gottfried with dedicating himself to indigent clients and advancing the state's criminal justice system.
Gottfried is ''an icon,'' said Mary T. Robinson, who was tapped by the high court to head a three-member search committee charged with finding a successor. ''I think it's really important that he be replaced by someone who is equally as dedicated to the agency.''

Robinson, who resigned earlier this year as administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, said Gottfried was her boss when she worked for the office in the mid-1970s.

''Ted has been consistently dedicated to the clients of that agency and effective in ensuring that the agency's resources are being put to the best use of the clients.''

In 1972, the Supreme Court appointed Gottfried as state appellate defender. He had served as director of the Illinois Defender Project, the agency's predecessor.

The appellate defender's office started with about 15 lawyers working in offices in Chicago, Elgin, Ottawa, Springfield and Mount Vernon. The office now employs nearly 200 attorneys and has an annual budget of about $26 million.

Over the years, the office has expanded its duties beyond representing indigent criminal defendants on appeal, Gottfried said. For instance, staff lawyers now assist in capital trials in Chicago, Springfield and Belleville.

''Over the 35 years, both the [Illinois Supreme] court and the legislature have recognized [Gottfried's] abilities administering programs in a real efficient manner,'' said Michael J. Pelletier, the deputy who heads the state appellate defender's Chicago office.

The agency is ''extremely well respected … in large part because of Ted's excellent administrative abilities,'' added Pelletier, 56, who said he expects to apply for Gottfried's job.

Gottfried's administrative abilities have been put to the test, including when budget constraints were imposed in the mid-1990s.
''There were times when our budget was cut, we had to lay people off, yet our caseload continued to increase,'' Gottfried said.
He added, however, ''We've had great support from the court system and the bar in general.''

Gottfried said he enjoyed his work on a committee established by then-Gov. George H. Ryan that recommended drastic changes to the state's death penalty system.

Thomas said Gottfried's ''principal legacy will be the state's ongoing commitment to capital sentencing reform.''

''Under Ted's leadership,'' the chief justice continued, ''the appellate defender's office led the way in identifying some of the gravest problems in Illinois' death penalty system.''

Ralph Ruebner, who worked with Gottfried in the 1970s, credited Gottfried with having the vision to create the appellate defender program.

''This was really a pioneering effort,'' added Ruebner, academic dean at The John Marshall Law School. ''I guess his legacy is that other states have modeled themselves after Illinois,'' including Michigan.
In 1986, the American Bar Association and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association honored Gottfried's office as the outstanding public defender office in the country.

Norbert J. Goetten, director of the Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, said Wednesday that Gottfried ''is one of the best in the profession. He has such integrity. He is a very skillful advocate, a dedicated and conscientious supervisor.''

Gottfried, who turns 67 early next month, might do some consulting work for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, and he plans to travel to locales where he can pursue his hobby — scuba diving.
Joining Robinson on the search committee are Chicago lawyer Thomas M. Breen and Randall B. Rosenbaum, the Champaign County public defender.

State law requires that the appellate defender be licensed to practice law in Illinois, Robinson said. Robinson noted that resumes should be submitted by Nov. 16 in her name to State Appellate Defender Administrative Office, 400 W. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62705.
The committee will then decide whom to interview, conduct the interviews and then recommend some action to the Supreme Court, possibly to appoint a replacement or conduct additional interviews, Robinson said. She expects the committee to make its recommendation by mid-December.