Grand jury's conclusions

The grand jury concluded that:

The county attorney’s office should be divested of all responsibility for CPS’s legal representation, and DFS’s legal department should be reinstituted as it previously existed;

There should be an annual reporting process for CPS workers on the quality of legal representation they received;

There should be a complete rethinking of the use of motels to house vulnerable populations in Sullivan County;

Sullivan County should create its own drug treatment facility;

CPS should drug-test their clients in-house; and

The legislature should create a subcommittee to help local hospitals adopt the double-doctor override when mothers refuse to accept drug testing at delivery or of their infant experiencing withdrawals.

Source: Office of the Sullivan County District Attorney

Attachments

Grand Jury Report

MONTICELLO, NY — The new Sullivan County legislature sidelined a controversial incumbent when it appointed Robert Freehill temporary county attorney this week. 

Newcomer Terry Blosser-Bernardo (District 9-R) voted against the appointment. “The incumbent should hold over until a new attorney is appointed,” she said.

But the incumbent, Michael McGuire, a disgraced Sullivan County judge appointed by the old legislature, has been controversial. The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct determined in 2020 that McGuire be removed from the bench “for engaging in numerous acts of misconduct.”

The commission’s administrator, Robert H. Tembeckjian, wrote in a news release at the time: “The breadth of Judge McGuire’s misconduct is stunning. He wrongfully ordered people to jail and handcuffed Family Court litigants; often berated and yelled at court staff and litigants; presided in matters despite having a disqualifying conflict; impermissibly practiced law and used court staff to assist him; and otherwise misused court staff. He compounded it all with untruthful testimony during the Commission’s proceedings. Such egregious misconduct warrants removal from judicial office.”

Last year, the county district attorney, Brian Conaty, blamed McGuire in a case involving the fatal fentanyl overdose of a child. Conaty said McGuire failed to approve requests by Child Protective Services to remove the child and their sibling from their caretakers. McGuire has denied Conaty’s accusations. 

On January 4, Sullivan County Judge James Farrell made public a blistering 100-page grand jury report (see sidebar and attachment) that found the county attorney’s office, when led by McGuire, failed the Department of Social Services (DSS) and Child Protective Services (CPS) and the vulnerable people they serve in numerous ways. It says the county attorney’s office “should be divested of all responsibility for CPS’s legal representation and DFS’s Legal Department should be reinstituted as it previously existed.”

DFS Legal was “a separate staff of attorneys dedicated solely to DSS and its legal requests.” At McGuire’s request and with the legislature’s approval, DFS Legal, which had four attorneys, was disbanded in May 2021. The county attorney’s office added three assistant county attorneys to take on DFS Legal’s workload. Petitions filed for child abuse or neglect plunged, from more than 200 a year under DFS Legal to fewer than 80 under the county attorney's office. The report also says the county should set up system that allows CPS employees to report annually on the quality of legal representation they received.

Conaty will hold a press conference at noon on Thursday, January 11, to discuss the report’s findings.

'Happy to help'

Freehill was appointed temporary acting county attorney this week in a 7-2 vote. 

“I’m very honored the legislators asked me to man the helm,” told the River Reporter.

Freehill said the legislators know him through his work in the county attorney’s office. After retiring from a long career in law, he said he joined that office three years ago at the request of McGuire, who knew him from a professional association. 

Freehill said he’s not interviewing for the position because his residence in Orange County renders him ineligible. He hasn’t been asked to participate in interviews, which will be conducted this month.

“I’m just really pleased with the reception I’ve received since I’ve come up here, and am happy to help,” he said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated from the original.