Stephen Maher: Bringing a world of legal expertise to Saint Rose

I have a lot of confidence in our students,” says Maher, an Albany Law School graduate. “They are an incredibly dedicated and diverse group, who will change our system for the better.”

The Oneida County native joined the military because he was interested in public service and in seeing the world. He played various roles for the Navy, Air Force, and Air National Guard on six continents, including during the Persian Gulf War and operations following the September 11 attacks.

Maher retired from active duty as a full colonel with a long list of commendations, joining state government in 2000. At the New York State Attorney General’s Office he litigated and supervised hundreds of criminal and civil cases. In 2014, the state corrections department hired him as chief of its office of special investigations. In a 2016 interview with The New York Times, Maher said his team had grown to more than 200 investigators, improved training and hiring practices, and disciplined and removed weak personnel.

Maher came to Saint Rose in 2021 as a visiting faculty member, moving to a tenure-track position this year. In addition to teaching criminal law, criminal justice, and courts, he is assistant coach of our mock trial team. Here are excerpts from an interview about his experience:

As a military lawyer you handled cases for the Navy, Air Force, and Air National Guard and defended service members. Describe the work and its importance.
It certainly gave me the ability to do what lawyers are supposed to do – look at things fairly through a lens of objectivity at what’s right and just in a system and try cases before juries. Most people in the military who make up your jury are well-trained, well-educated, and conservative. As a defense counsel, one might think that’s a disadvantage, but I found they have a deep commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution.

I also handled many defense cases that resulted in acquittals. There was one case where a Navy enlisted man was charged with using PCP. He was a former gang member who had used PCP prior to his service, all disclosed, but had cleaned up his act. A drug test came back positive. But research showed significant exercise and weight loss, which this man had undergone, can cause the release of PCP metabolite into cells.

Initially the judge said, “You don’t have anyone with that expertise.” But we brought in the foremost expert in the field, and his testimony was very compelling.

The individual, an aviation technician, was acquitted, and rightly so. He carved a good life for himself and his family in the Navy.

You have faith in our courts, police, and corrections but do not hesitate to criticize. You drew headlines for citing state prisons for allowing correction officers to brutalize inmates unchecked. Please discuss.
I went into corrections and parole with my eyes wide open. I was advanced in my career and not naïve about the system and its problem. I also had broad investigative authority, a superb team, and support of state leadership. We focused on righting wrongs, whether the acts of corrections and parole officers, staff members, or offenders. Then we took appropriate internal disciplinary steps and/or made external criminal referrals.

What I found is that most officers and staff were quite noble and operated fairly. It was a dangerous system, yes, and staff dealt with a very difficult population. By excising the rotten element, we made the system stronger. Corrections and parole are closed systems, so our monitoring and investigative efforts were very effective.

Critics argue criminal justice is rooted in slavery and has brought about a mass incarceration of people of color. Please comment:
I would not use that label. But it’s clear many aspects of criminal justice impact minority populations in disparate ways. That’s where I think an honest analysis in an academic setting like Saint Rose is helpful.

Most people in the criminal justice system are trying to do the right thing. There’s only a small percentage that takes all the attention. I recognize the problems, but it is beyond irresponsible to just say “defund the police.” We need effective policing.

I’m not one to blow up the system, but I do believe that with brave and creative steps, incremental progress can be made on mass incarceration and the disparate treatment of minorities. All those needles can and will be moved but not by finger pointing and blame.

When I ask students how many consider going into law enforcement about four or five usually raise their hands. When I ask why, they say they want to do right, to help move the needle. Now, more than ever, law enforcement needs good people from every walk of life.

You created a class in human trafficking. Why?
I asked students what courses they would find more interesting and human trafficking resonated. I knew quite a lot about it because in 2011 the New York State Attorney General’s Office began a focus on human trafficking and got very involved with other agencies and nongovernmental organizations in a task force.

The class was popular, and I hope to teach it again. We learn about vulnerabilities, and where it takes place on a global scale, and how it’s connected to other crimes. Why is it called a modern-day slavery, and why is it such a worldwide scourge, and why do people do it over and over again? The answer is, it’s a money-maker.

To that end, I hope our students come away from CJ classes with more disciplined methods, rooted in honesty, with a view toward making things better. ” – Stephen Maher

Your classes cover gun violence, race, sentencing, and policing. What is your approach to discussing such painful and deeply personal topics?
In each class, we look at events, topics, issues, and alternatives and pull the facts out. I ask students to look at the basic facts – they laugh because I always say, “Look at the who, what, why, where, and how, and explain things.” We consider facts, numbers, studies, statistics, percentages, geography, dates, times, and other aspects to reach conclusions. I believe that one has to start with that kind of simple yet disciplined analysis. Otherwise, it is just all opinion based on nothing other than what we see and hear from Fox and CNN. To that end, I hope our students come away from CJ classes with more disciplined methods, rooted in honesty, with a view toward making things better.

By Jane M. Gottlieb