Robert Winn for District Attorney

Robert M. Winn, Esq. is a native of Washington County, having been born in the Village of Granville in 1954. Winn was one of five children of Romayne Winn and Lois Winn, who were both born in 1928 and raised in Granville, where they graduated from the local high school. Winn’s father died at age 47 in 1975 when Winn was 21; his mother at age 59 in 1987.

Following graduation from Granville High School, where he graduated second in his class and was a member of the 1971 Northern Conference Championship football team, Robert Winn won an academic scholarship to Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts where he graduated in 1976. He later received his Juris Doctor from Albany Law School, in Albany, New York where he also won an academic scholarship.

While at law school, Robert Winn was the recipient of the 1980 National Commercial Bank and Trust Award for will drafting and estate planning. Upon completion of law school, Mr. Winn served as a law clerk for the Third Department of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division from 1980 to 1981 where he became fully knowledgeable of appellate law. He drafted and argued over one hundred appeals, including three cases in which he successfully argued cases before the New York Court of Appeals, being the State's highest court.

Paid for by Robert Winn for District Attorney

After his clerkship at the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division was completed (the Appellate Division is the Court on which Judge Mercure is assigned), Robert Winn began practicing law with his brother John Winn at 13 North Street in Granville and did so from 1981 through 1989 where they handled real estate matters, estate matters, and personal injury cases. At this time, Robert Winn became admitted to practice law in the State of Vermont having passed the Vermont bar exam in February of 1981 on his first attempt. Winn had previously passed the New York bar exam following his graduation from law school. While practicing law with his brother, Robert Winn was appointed an Assistant District Attorney for the Washington County District Attorney’s Office by District Attorney Gordon Hemmett in 1983 and served in that capacity from January 1, 1983 through December 31, 1989. At the time of his appointment to the position of Assistant District Attorney, Winn’s brother John Winn, then only age 32, was the Washington County Public Defender. In order to avoid the conflicts of interest created by Robert Winn’s appointment as an Assistant District Attorney, John Winn resigned his position as Washington County Public Defender.

In 1989, at age 35, Winn was elected to the first of four terms as District Attorney, having won re-election in 1993, 1997, and 2001. In 1993 and 1997, he faced opposition from now County Court Judge Kelly McKeighan and in 2001, he ran unopposed.

During his tenure as District Attorney, Winn has handled scores of jury trials, including historic murder trials such as People v. David Pope, involving a cold case homicide, and People v. Everett Corey, for which Winn was named New York State Arson Prosecutor of the Year for 1995. In addition to Washington County, he has won homicide trials in Essex and Rensselaer County. He has probably won more murder trials than any other lawyer in Washington County history. During Winn’s tenure as District Attorney, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office won four cases before the New York Court of Appeals, including the three cases which Winn personally argued before the State’s highest court. Winn is the only currently practicing attorney in Washington County to have successfully argued three cases before the New York Court of Appeals.

In 2001, as a special prosecutor in Rensselaer County, Winn handled the notorious Mary Beth Anslow case in Rensselaer County which created enormous controversy when a local conditional release board discharged Anslow from jail before the completion of her sentence. A copy of the final Appellate Division decision sending Anslow back to jail to complete her sentence may be viewed by clicking here.

At the end of Winn's tenure as District Attorney, members of the District Attorney's Office included current Assemblyman Tony Jordan and current County Court Judge Kelly McKeighan who served as Assistant District Attorneys, as well as Don McPhee, a respected attorney from Salem who also served as an Assistant District Attorney.

In 2005, Winn declined seeking re-election to the position of District Attorney in light of the potential conflict of interest which would have been created had his brother’s race for County Court Judge been successful. In 2006, Winn served as an Assistant District Attorney in Essex County. Although Winn enjoyed the job and associations made in Essex County and found it to be an unparalleled learning experience, due to the impracticalities of splitting time in Essex County and his home in Middle Granville, Winn left full-time employment with the Essex County District Attorney's Office in February of 2007, although he still does part-time contract work for the Essex County District Attorney's Office assisting them in the drafting of appellate briefs.

In April of 2007, Winn opened a private law office in Fort Edward, New York to serve the people of Washington County and the surrounding area. Former Fort Edward Police Chief and current Fort Edward Town Supervisor Mitchell Suprenant offered Winn the opportunity to serve as Town Attorney for the Town of Fort Edward, which Winn accepted as part of his private law practice.

Winn currently resides in his home town of Granville with his wife Janet. They have two grown children and one grand-daughter, born on April 20, 2007.

Mr. Winn's Resume

Please click here for Robert Winn's resume. It is viewable in PDF format.