'Nice Guy' Cy needs to take the gloves off

Last Updated: 12:18 PM, March 15, 2010

Posted: 4:18 AM, March 15, 2010

Comments: 9

Andrea Peyser

This city needs a fighter. Not a lover.

Cyrus Vance Jr. plopped, seemingly from nowhere, into one of the country's premier crime-fighting jobs -- one that's lauded on TV's "Law & Order," canonized on stage and screen, and was held by a real-life national icon, Robert Morgenthau, since the days of typewriters and dime pay phones.

Vance, 55, has served as Manhattan's district attorney for less than three months -- barely long enough to plot a route to the men's room. But folks inside and outside 1 Hogan Place can't help but wonder if he's up to the job.

"No one thinks he's a heavy hitter," one ex-prosecutor told me. "He's a nice guy." Ouch! "But my feeling is that he's a lightweight."

Vance's prosecutorial sensibilities were forged not on the streets of Harlem during the crack epidemic, which he all but missed, but in the espresso bars of Seattle, where Vance spent 17 years as a defense lawyer after fleeing New York, a brief stint as a prosecutor, and the shadow of his father, who served as Jimmy Carter's secretary of state.

From Day One, Vance has introduced an agenda heavy on justice but decidedly light on the criminal part. He sought headlines -- but drew yawns -- with the defense-friendly "Conviction Integrity Program." Hmm?

Vance's office plans to review massive numbers of cases, looking for wrongful convictions caused by such wrongs as coerced confessions. A laudable goal. But isn't that job for defense attorneys?

Vance also proposed holding seminars aimed at protecting Haitian immigrants from scammers. This had one courthouse veteran throwing up his hands -- and wondering if there was any there there.

"It seemed an odd focus to me," said a wag who, like present and past prosecutors I interviewed, did not want his name used for fear of antagonizing Vance.

Where did this come from? Out West, Vance developed a give-criminals-a-hug philosophy that may have endeared him to Manhattan's lefty voters. But now what?

"To succeed in Manhattan, you have to be extraordinarily liberal," explained a prosecutor. "No one wants to hear the word 'jail' or 'conviction.' "

Vance rode into town with a mandate not to fight crime, but "prevent" crime, he told me during his campaign -- an attitude cast in amber in simpler days.

Not long ago, we called that way of thinking "finding root causes" for criminal behavior. This, of course, led to the most vicious crime wave in history, before it was abandoned.

On the flip side, defense attorneys I spoke with don't treat Vance with fear or awe. They see him as one of their own.

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BLD

03/23/2010 11:42 PM

Reading the blog describing vnace: "Steel backbone?" Really? Give one example.
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BLD

03/23/2010 11:34 PM

The wrong man was elected. What in Vance's background prepares him for this job? Ran from New York to Seattle -- some half-articulated father complex -- came back with a job in Morgenthau's son-in-law's firm, and used his father's network and Morgenthau's desire to rule from the grave to get himself elected. He will be nothing but a disappointment and undistinguished. Morgenthau, with his infinite ego, has shown his own weakness but picking the weakest of them all. I wonder how many innocents Morganthau put away out of inflamed ego? He certainly never prosecuted a single politician: guess there was no corruption in politics in the many years he was in office...
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Pearce Handrick

03/16/2010 10:20 AM

Clearly Ms. Peyser is not informed at all about wrongful convictions in New York or the state of public defense, or she would not make such dismally ignorant statements. The NYPD's chief spokesperson welcomed the possibility to stopping wrongful convictions. I think it is safe to say that it is tough on crime to want the *right* people in jail, not someone who is innocent.
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Pearce Handrick

03/16/2010 10:19 AM

Clearly Ms. Peyser is not informed at all about wrongful convictions in New York or the state of public defense, or she would not make such dismally ignorant statements. The NYPD's chief spokesperson welcomed the possibility to stopping wrongful convictions. I think it is safe to say that it is tough on crime to want the *right* people in jail, not someone who is innocent.
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Pearce Handrick

03/16/2010 10:18 AM

Clearly Ms. Peyser is not informed at all about wrongful convictions in New York or the state of public defense, or she would not make such dismally ignorant statements. The NYPD's chief spokesperson welcomed the possibility to stopping wrongful convictions. I think it is safe to say that it is tough on crime to want the *right* people in jail, not someone who is innocent.
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Ravi Batra

03/16/2010 1:19 AM

For 36 glorious years Robert M. Morgenthau has protected public safety, prosecuted criminals with extra-terrestrial jurisdiction, and protected the public trust and as a result earned the nickname: The World's District Attorney.

What we need to celebrate is that the legendary Bob Morgenthau selected, rightfully, a new legend---Cy Vance, Jr., because Cy is a man with a steel backbone and a statesmanlike manner.

The new legend has begun. He is protecting public safety, going after the criminals, and even investigating $1.2 million spent in the last election on the Independence party by our good mayor.

There is no comparison between Bob Morgenthau and Cy Vance, Jr. They are unique, and one can applaud Morgenthau and his chosen successor.

Dated: 3/15/10
/s/
Ravi Batra
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bomberpete46

03/16/2010 12:39 AM

If chronically dyspeptic Andrea "Don't Confuse Me With Facts" Peyser is putting down Vance, then I'm convinced he's going to be a fantastic DA -- better than Morgy in his prime.
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bomberpete46

03/16/2010 12:36 AM

If chronically dyspeptic Andrea "Don't Confuse Me With Facts" Peyser is putting down Vance, then I'm convinced he's going to be a fantastic DA -- better than Morgy in his prime.