John Richard Dunne (January 28, 1930 – November 1, 2020) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician, and lawyer from Long Island, New York. Dunne was a major figure in New York Republican politics in the second half of the 20th century. He is best remembered for his twenty-three years in the New York State Senate and his involvement in the

Attica prison riots The Attica Prison Riot, also known as the Attica Prison Rebellion, the Attica Uprising, or the Attica Prison Massacre, took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the high ...

. Dunne was born in Baldwin, New York, and attended Garden City High School. He graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1951, and received his law degree from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

in 1954. He married Denise in 1958 and they had four children together. Dunne resided in Garden City and Columbia County. He was senior counsel at the Albany law firm of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna. He was also a director of several corporations.

In the State Senate

Dunne was a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1989, sitting in the 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th and

188th New York State Legislature The 188th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1989, to December 31, 1990, during the seventh and eighth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Backgr ...

s. Dunne served as Deputy Majority Leader, as well as chairman or ranking member of six committees. Numerous Republican public figures from Long Island served on Dunne's staff, including

Michael Balboni Michael Balboni (born May 12, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the State Assembly, the State Senate, and Deputy Secretary for Public Safety of the State of New York. Political career Balboni entered p ...

. Dunne was a major figure in the

of 1971. At the time, Dunne was chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee, which oversees the prison system. At one dramatic moment during the riot, Dunne entered the prison with ''New York Times'' editor

Tom Wicker Thomas Grey Wicker (June 18, 1926 – November 25, 2011) was an American journalist. He was a political reporter and columnist for ''The New York Times''. Background and education Wicker was born in Hamlet, North Carolina. He was a graduate ...

and Assemblyman

Arthur Eve Arthur O. Eve (born March 23, 1933) is a retired American politician who served as a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly (1967–2002) and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly (1979–2002) representing districts in Buffalo, New York ...

to negotiate with the prisoners. He strongly criticized Governor Nelson Rockefeller for the latter's actions, including a refusal to visit the prison, and argued that the prison standoff could have ended without bloodshed if state officials had acted differently. Dunne was an original sponsor of the

Rockefeller drug laws The Rockefeller Drug Laws are the statutes dealing with the sale and possession of " narcotic" drugs in the New York State Penal Law. The laws are named after Nelson Rockefeller, who was the state's governor at the time the laws were adopted. Ro ...

in 1973, but by the 2000s argued for major changes in New York drug laws. Dunne sponsored the New York law that protects the confidentiality of tests for HIV/AIDS. He was regularly mentioned as a possible candidate for other offices, including statewide offices. In 1977, he sought the Republican nomination for Nassau County Executive, but lost the primary election. He resigned his seat in September 1989.''Influential L.I. Senator Quits''
in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on August 10, 1989 Dunne's papers from his days in the Senate are archived at the New York State Modern Political Archive at the

University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

George H. W. Bush administration and later legal career

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush nominated Dunne to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. His appointment was supported by members of both parties, including

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

Charles Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the Ho ...

and Richard Thornburgh. After serving at the Justice Department, Dunne became a partner in the firm of Rivkin Radler LLP, then known as Rivkin, Radler, Dunne & Bayh. He was recognized several times for his contribution to the law in New York State, earning the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justic ...

's Gold Medal Award in 2006, among other awards. In 2003, the New York State Bar Foundation named its fund for legal services for indigent persons after Dunne. In 2006, Dunne was appointed chairman of a task force charged with reforming the state probation system.

2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis

On June 20, 2009, Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. ...

asked Dunne and former Lieutenant Governor Stan Lundine to serve as special mediators to resolve the 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis.

References

External links

Dunne's profile at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna

Oral history interview with John R. Dunne (2008) from ''Justice in New York: An Oral History'' (full transcript)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, John R. Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York Yale Law School alumni 1930 births 2020 deaths People from Garden City, New York George H. W. Bush administration personnel United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Civil Rights Division Garden City High School (New York) alumni New York (state) lawyers

In the State Senate

George H. W. Bush administration and later legal career

2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis

Further reading

References

External links