Leslie Crocker Snyder - Legal Career

Legal Career

After attending Radcliffe College (now Harvard) and the Case Western Reserve University School of Law on scholarship, Snyder was admitted to the Ohio State Bar in 1966 and the New York State Bar in 1967, Snyder has worked in the New York criminal justice system for over thirty-five years, both as a prosecutor and as a judge. She was the first female to try felony and homicide cases as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's office under Frank Hogan and Robert Morgenthau. During her nine years in the office, Snyder founded and led the Sex Crimes Prosecution Bureau, which was the first in the nation and co-authored New York State's Rape Shield Law.

After leaving the New York County District Attorney's Office, Snyder was named the Chief of Trials at the Office of the Special Prosecutor against Corruption. She re-entered the public sector after three years as a defense attorney for indigent clients and became Deputy Criminal Justice Coordinator and Head of the Arson Strike Force at the Office of the New York City Criminal Justice Coordinator. Soon after, she was appointed to the position of a Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York in 1983 by Mayor Ed Koch. She was reappointed to the Criminal Court Judgeship by Mayor David Dinkins in 1993

While serving as a Criminal Court Judge, Snyder was designated by the state courts administration to serve as an Acting Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term. This is a common procedure done in New York in order to provide more judges to handle felony criminal cases. It is easier to designate Acting Supreme Court Justices than to create more judgeships on the Supreme Court. Most Acting Justices come from either the New York City Criminal Court or Civil Court of the state Court of Claims bench. In June 2000, Judge Snyder was appointed by Gov. George Pataki, and confirmed by the New York Senate to a seven year term on the New York Court of Claims. While she was a Court of Claims Judge, Snyder continued to serve as an Acting Supreme Court Justice and continued to handle criminal cases in New York County, New York.

While on the bench, Snyder presided over such trials as those of the "Gheri Curls", the "Wild Cowboys", the "Young Talented Children" and the "Natural Born Killers", among others, including those of murderers, rapists, as well as many white-collar, stock fraud and mob cases.

She resigned from the Court of Claims in 2004 in order to prepare for her run for District Attorney. Snyder is currently a partner at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.