Cops in the Courtroom

A story in the New York Times last week explored whether having contingents of uniformed police officers attend the trials of those accused of murdering cops has an undue influence on juries.

The story noted that lawyers for one of the accused killers of Officer Daniel Enchautegui and the three men charged in the murder of Officer Russel Timoshenko all asked jurors during their opening statements in ongoing trials not to be influenced by the presence of the cops in the courtroom. It also pointed out that a Federal Judge had barred cops from appearing in uniform during the 2006 trial of a man accused of murdering two undercover Detectives in Staten Island, and quoted an attorney for a man now serving life in prison for the murder of two Brooklyn Detectives saying that the cops were "there to intimidate—the jury, the lawyers, the judge."

We disagree, based on observation of cops in the courtroom during a series of trials; sometimes of alleged cop-killers, sometimes of cops themselves.

Without question, they turn out in relatively sizable numbers to bear witness and to make a kind of statement. In the trials of accused cop-killers, they are also there to support the families of their colleagues. But the only standard that should be imposed on them is that they observe the same sense of decorum that is expected of other citizens.

Any notion that their presence could create an unfavorable impression regarding those accused of killing their colleagues should not matter. Trials are always about images; it is why most violent criminal defendants present themselves differently, in both dress and behavior, than they would on the street. The task of the judicial system is to make it clear to jurors that they must cut through appearances and decide cases on the facts.

We cannot recall any case we've covered over the past decade where cops in the gallery did not behave themselves appropriately. They have good reason to comport themselves with discipline and restrain their emotions, and they generally do so.