Experience matters. That’s the message that Livingston County district attorney candidate Eric R. Schiener wants Republican voters to focus on when they vote in the GOP Primary, likely in September.
Schiener is a long-time prosecutor with the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office, starting there in 1999. On March 2, 2012, he resigned as acting district attorney to run for the full-time job. According to an interpretation of the federal Hatch Act, Schiener could not continue to serve as “acting” district attorney while campaigning for the job, because he oversaw some federal funds. He had become acting district attorney when Thomas Moran, the former district attorney, was elected to the Seventh Judicial District state Supreme Court. Schiener has stayed with the office, continuing to serve as a part-time assistant district attorney.
“I have more experience than anyone running,” Schiener said in a recent telephone interview. “I have been on the ground doing the job for Livingston County residents since 1999.”
The 1997 Syracuse Law School graduate said he has personally handled over 1,200 felony cases and wrote more than 100 criminal appeals. He served as first assistant district attorney for more than six years. Shiener said he has forged important relationships with Livingston County law enforcement officials and other district attorneys. He noted that he has experience leading a DA staff, traveling to crime scenes, and making the tough decisions.
“I have tried more felony cases than anyone currently practicing criminal law in Livingston County,” he said.
Schiener grew up in Sardinia, a town in southeastern Erie County, and graduated from Pioneer Central School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from St. John Fisher College in Rochester and his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1997. He was admitted to practice law in New York state in 1998.
After law school, he worked as an aid for Republican state Sen. Jess J. Present, serving as a legislative counsel. In addition to his legislative responsibilities and duties as clerk to the Senate’s commerce, Economic Development and Small Business committees, Schiener oversaw Present’s legislative member items. After Present’s death, Schiener went to work for the New York State insurance Department as a legal compliance attorney and with the Life Insurance Bureau. Schiener said he helped protect the rights of New Yorkers by battling with giant insurance companies over potentially deceptive forms and procedures. He also helped draft a protocol for charitable gift annuities in New York, assisting both the not-for-profit organizations and those donors who want to give a life gift to worthwhile causes.
Shiener and his wife Tiffany have three young children. They reside in Geneseo.
According to the Livingston County Board of Elections, the Republican Primary for district attorney is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11, however officials said the timing of the primary could change. If the primary is held on or around Sept. 11, candidates could begin circulating petitions to get on the ballot in June.
Steve Sessler, a former Marine Corps judge advocate who has a private law practice in Geneseo, has also announced that he is seeking the Republican nod for DA.
Experience matters. That’s the message that Livingston County district attorney candidate Eric R. Schiener wants Republican voters to focus on when they vote in the GOP Primary, likely in September.
Schiener is a long-time prosecutor with the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office, starting there in 1999. On March 2, 2012, he resigned as acting district attorney to run for the full-time job. According to an interpretation of the federal Hatch Act, Schiener could not continue to serve as “acting” district attorney while campaigning for the job, because he oversaw some federal funds. He had become acting district attorney when Thomas Moran, the former district attorney, was elected to the Seventh Judicial District state Supreme Court. Schiener has stayed with the office, continuing to serve as a part-time assistant district attorney.
“I have more experience than anyone running,” Schiener said in a recent telephone interview. “I have been on the ground doing the job for Livingston County residents since 1999.”
The 1997 Syracuse Law School graduate said he has personally handled over 1,200 felony cases and wrote more than 100 criminal appeals. He served as first assistant district attorney for more than six years. Shiener said he has forged important relationships with Livingston County law enforcement officials and other district attorneys. He noted that he has experience leading a DA staff, traveling to crime scenes, and making the tough decisions.
“I have tried more felony cases than anyone currently practicing criminal law in Livingston County,” he said.
Schiener grew up in Sardinia, a town in southeastern Erie County, and graduated from Pioneer Central School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from St. John Fisher College in Rochester and his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1997. He was admitted to practice law in New York state in 1998.
After law school, he worked as an aid for Republican state Sen. Jess J. Present, serving as a legislative counsel. In addition to his legislative responsibilities and duties as clerk to the Senate’s commerce, Economic Development and Small Business committees, Schiener oversaw Present’s legislative member items. After Present’s death, Schiener went to work for the New York State insurance Department as a legal compliance attorney and with the Life Insurance Bureau. Schiener said he helped protect the rights of New Yorkers by battling with giant insurance companies over potentially deceptive forms and procedures. He also helped draft a protocol for charitable gift annuities in New York, assisting both the not-for-profit organizations and those donors who want to give a life gift to worthwhile causes.
Shiener and his wife Tiffany have three young children. They reside in Geneseo.
According to the Livingston County Board of Elections, the Republican Primary for district attorney is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11, however officials said the timing of the primary could change. If the primary is held on or around Sept. 11, candidates could begin circulating petitions to get on the ballot in June.
Steve Sessler, a former Marine Corps judge advocate who has a private law practice in Geneseo, has also announced that he is seeking the Republican nod for DA.
