Partner Joshua W. Martin III Selected to Monitor Progress of Initiative to Improve Inmate Health Care in Delaware

May 2007

Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP is pleased to announce that partner Joshua W. Martin III has been jointly selected by the Delaware Department of Correction (DOC) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to serve as the Independent Monitor in overseeing the progress of DOC in satisfying the requirements of a 2006 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between DOC and DOJ relating to prison medical and mental health care in four DOC institutions. Mr. Martin, a former Delaware Superior Court Judge, agreed to serve in this role to monitor the DOC’s compliance with the comprehensive Memorandum of Agreement.

As Independent Monitor, Mr. Martin will lead a team of medical and mental health professionals in providing technical assistance to the DOC. The team will also evaluate the DOC’s compliance with the Agreement’s requirements relating to DOC policies and procedures, recordkeeping, medication and laboratory orders, staffing and training, screening and treatment, access to care, chronic disease care, medication management, emergency care, mental health care, suicide prevention, and quality assurance. The Independent Monitor is required to issue bi-annual reports on the DOC’s progress.

“I am honored to be selected by the Department of Correction and the Department of Justice to serve in this very important position and I look forward to helping improve the inmate medical system in the State of Delaware,” Mr. Martin said.

On December 29, 2006, the DOJ and the State entered into the Memorandum of Agreement, which requires the State to take measures to ensure that adequate medical and mental health care is provided to its inmates. Within the past few weeks, the DOC issued a comprehensive Action Plan that identifies the specific measures that the Department intends to take in order to bring the four facilities covered by the Agreement into compliance. The facilities are the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, the Delores J. Baylor Women’s Correctional Institute, the Delaware Correctional Center, and the Sussex Correctional Institution. The Action Plan was submitted to and accepted by the DOJ.

At Potter Anderson, Mr. Martin concentrates his law practice on mediation and arbitration, as well as on business counseling, particularly in the areas of telecommunications, public utilities and governmental relations. He also serves as Chair of Potter Anderson’s Diversity Committee, where he is responsible for enhancing the firm's ongoing diversity efforts.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Martin was president and Chief Executive Officer of Verizon Delaware from 1996 until 2005, where he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s telecommunications business within the State, including regulatory, financial and operational matters. He also spent eight years as a Delaware Superior Court Judge and served on the Delaware Public Service Commission from 1978 until 1982, including three years as chairman.