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Experience

POSITIONS IN GOVERNMENT:

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1981-1990 - Mr. Liotti was appointed and served as Chair of the Code Review Commission for the Incorporated Village of Westbury.

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In January, 1991 he received an Award for Distinguished Service from the Incorporated Village of Westbury. "In Recognition Of And Appreciation For His Many Years Of Dedicated Service To The Village of Westbury..."

Mr. Liotti served on the Criminal Justice Act Panel in the Southern District of New York (1981-1987) and in the Eastern District of New York (1978-1991). From approximately 1981-1984, Mr. Liotti served on the Article 18-B Trial and Appeals Panels in the Appellate Division, First Department. Beginning in 1978 and for twenty five years thereafter, Mr. Liotti served on the Article18-B Panel in Nassau. He served on the first committee which established the Major Felony and Homicide Panels in Nassau County and on a separate committee of the Bar Association of Nassau County which mandated CLE for Article 18-B panelists. This was the first mandatory CLE program in the State for lawyers. He also founded and established the Assigned Counsel Sub-Committee for State and Federal Courts of the Criminal Law and Procedure Committee, Bar Association of Nassau County. For approximately ten years he was a member of the Assigned Counsel's Administrator's Special Committee which reviewed and decided upon the applications of those seeking membership on the 18-B panels.

 

Mr. Liotti served pro bono publico, as a Judge on Nassau County Medical Malpractice Panels from 1984-1986.

In 1985 Mr. Liotti brought about a major investigation of conditions at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York, NY by the then Chief Judge in the Eastern District of New York, Hon. Jack Weinstein.  This created a major improvement in conditions at the jail, particularly in the attorney conference room area. Mr. Liotti brought about a similar investigation and improved conditions at the MDC in Brooklyn, New York in 1995.

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In 1992, Mr. Liotti lobbied successfully for a rule change in the Appellate Division, Second Department to allow for the granting of bail pending appeal for non-violent convicted felons and to permit their appeals to be heard on the basis of the original record (See Rule 670.9).

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In 1993 and 1994 Mr. Liotti helped to organize and participated in lobbying efforts in the New York State Legislature to increase fees for assigned counsel. This was a joint effort by local criminal law bar associations, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) and The New York State Bar Association. Mr. Liotti named the day of lobbying as: "Gideon Day."  That name has remained and each year the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the New York State Bar Association, The New Y:ork State Defender's Association and other groups annually visit Albany for a day of lobbying

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January-March, 1995 - Special Counsel and Fact Finder, Town of Huntington. Conducted a full investigation, questioning 25 witnesses and issuing a 100 page report plus exhibits and tapes.  This investigation included an inquiry into alleged political favoritism in the Town concerning a zoning and planning matter.  Mr. Liotti found no evidence of wrongdoing, but made several recommendations for improved governance and ethics, all of which were adopted by the Town Board.

 

On April 23, 1997, Thomas F. Liotti was appointed by Hon. Charles P. Sifton, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (as per Administrative Order No. 97-5) to the "Panel of Attorneys who are members of the Bar of this Court to advise and assist the Committee on Grievances of the Board of Judges in connection with the discipline of attorneys pursuant to Rule 1.5(a) of the General Rules of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York."

 

In July, 1997, Mr. Liotti was named as General Counsel to the Wyandanch Union Free School District. See Smith, Andrew, Wyandanch Gets New Attorney For District, Newsday, August 7, 1997 at A33. This article describes Mr. Liotti's unanimous  appointment by the Board of Education as its General Counsel. See also, Board Appoints District Legal Counsel, Wyandanch Union Free School District Newsletter, Vol. 1, Number 1, Fall, 1997 at 4.  Mr. Liotti continued to serve as General Counsel until September, 2000.

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On June 6, 2000, Mr. Liotti was unanimously appointed by the Town of North Hempstead Town Board to the newly formed Town of North Hempstead Councilmatic District Commission pursuant to Section 51 of the Town Law (Resolution Nos. 22 & 23-2000).  The appointment was for a one year term. The purpose of the Commission was to consider and advise the Town Board by written report no later than May 15, 2001: (1) how to create, within the requirements of law, a system of councilmanic districts for the Town of North Hempstead; (2) how many councilmanic districts should be created, taking into account considerations of effective representation, constitutionality and costs; and (3) how the district boundaries should be drawn. As a result of Mr. Liotti's efforts women and minorities were added to the commission; voters approved increasing the number of Town Council seats from four to six; and a minority district was also created.

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September 22, 2010 - Mr. Liotti was named by the Nassau County Executive and the County Attorney as Special Counsel for Legal Services to represent the County of Nassau for certain specified litigations in the following areas of law: federal litigation, municipal law and appellate practice.

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ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCES:

  • ​guest speaker at Syracuse University School of Law on the subject of Professional Ethics: Fighting Against Attacks By Judges, Prosecutors, Fellow Attorneys and Former Clients

  • co-author of A Practice Guide to Village, Town and District Courts, published by Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, Rochester, New York (now Reuters Thompson West, St. Paul, Minnesota), 1995- Present

  • served as General Counsel to the Wyandanch Union Free School District and as Special Counsel to the Town of Huntington

  • Village Justice for more than twenty-six years; thirty-seven reported decisions

  • served on the Villages Code Review Commission

  • former President of several legal and community organizations including the Kiwanis Club International, the Columbian Lawyers' Association; Criminal Courts Bar Associatiion of Nassau County and New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) and Chairman of the Board of the Nassau Lawyers' Association. Former Chair of the New York State Bar Association Criminal Justice Section and Editor of its Journal. Former Chair of the Civial Rights Committee of the Nassau County Bar Assciataion; published member of its Professional Ethics Committee

  • Published more than 200 legal articles and Op-Ed pieces and book reviews; columnist for the Community Newspapers of Long Island

  • Fellow in the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and Life Member of the New York State Asscociation of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) and the National Asscociation of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)

  • More than 400 reported decisions bear his name

  • 1997 recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award from Nassau County and its Human Rights Commision based upon "more than thirty years of extordinary work as a lawyer, judge, and community activist."

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