Barry Slotnick is a New York defense attorney, best known for defending Bernhard Goetz.
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Slotnick was born in The Bronx in 1939 to Jewish Orthodox Russian immigrants.[1] He graduated with a B.A. from City College of the City University of New York, a J.D. from New York University Law School, and was admitted to the bar at age 21.[2] After graduating from law school, Slotnick set up his own practice in Manhattan.[3] Slotnick focused on criminal defense, and found clients by sitting in the front row of court, waiting until the judges would say “Slotnick, the next client is yours.”[3] From there, he started his own boutique law firm that eventually became Slotnick, Shapiro & Crocker.
In 1984, Slotnick defended Bernhard Goetz, who shot four would-be muggers on a New York City subway.[4][5] Goetz was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and several firearms offenses. The trial received national attention, and a Manhattan jury found Goetz not guilty of all charges except an illegal firearms possession count, for which he served two-thirds of a one-year sentence.[6][7]
The New York Times attributed the victory to Slotnick’s “clever courtroom tactics,” noting that he “turned out to be a shrewder, more accomplished performer than the prosecutor, Gregory Waples.”[8] In particular, Slotnick’s aggressive questioning of James Ramseur, one of the four shot by Goetz, pushed Ramseur to react explosively, which resulted in Rasmeur’s entire testimony being stricken from the record including negative statements Rasmeur made about Goetz.[9][10]
When later reflecting on the case, Slotnick said "I've had greater victories and I've had much more difficult cases to try, but for the public perception, for the public need, Goetz was important. Goetz was my public service case.”[11]
Originally an appellate attorney, Slotnick eventually branched out into high-profile criminal cases that garnered national media attention. In his early 30’s, Slotnick defended mob boss Joe Colombo in front of the United States Supreme Court and won.[1] Ultimately, the New York Court of Appeals declared New York's contempt statute unconstitutional.[3] He would later go on to be the major lawyer in the first John Gotti case, in which Gotti and his associates were all acquitted.[12][13]
Slotnick has also represented former Democratic Congressman Mario Biaggi, as well as Vyacheslav Kirillovich Ivankov, who was accused by the United States Department of Justice of being a pivotal boss within the Russian mafia.[14][15][16] He then represented casino magnate Steve Wynn, Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and Rabbi Meir Kahane.[1][17][18][19] He also handled the divorce proceedings on behalf of actor Anthony Quinn and June Gumbel—wife of television personality Bryant Gumbel.[20]
In 2004, Slotnick defended retired Army Captain Jay Ferriola pro-bono with his son Stuart Slotnick. Ferriola was ordered to redeploy to Iraq after completing eight years of service, and sued the Army under the grounds that they violated his due process rights.[21][22] The Department of Defense later allowed Ferriola to retire from the Army. The case was the first to challenge the Army's stop-loss policy, which had affected tens of thousands of soldiers since the start of the Iraq War.[23] Slotnick went on to successfully try four more similar cases.[24]
With his son, Stuart, Slotnick also navigated a settlement for publicly traded Sportingbet with the U.S. Government's Department of Justice for $30 million and a non-prosecution agreement.[25] This amount was a quarter of what competing site PartyGaming paid in a similar lawsuit.[26] Pursuant to the non prosecution agreement, Sportingbet will not be indicted for their criminal acts in the United States.[25]
In 2005, he merged Slotnick Shapiro & Crocker with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, where he is currently a partner and shareholder.[27]
Slotnick has been a member of the New York Governor's Judicial Selection Committee, Chairman of the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Capital Crimes, and a former Special Deputy Attorney General.
Slotnick is married to Donna Slotnick and has four children, one of whom is attorney Stuart Slotnick, best known for defending American Apparel.[28]
He once went on a 12 year winning streak, and has said that his favorite client was Winnie the Pooh, whom he represents adverse to Disneyland.[17] He received the American Lawyer's AMMY Award as the best defense lawyer in America, was named to the New York Super Lawyer List in 2006, 2007, and 2009, and was included in the American Trial Lawyers Association Top 100 Trial Lawyers of 2009.[29]