B'klyn Judge Reverses Self on Courthouse Fight; No Relocation

DENNIS QUIRK: Dangerous precedent averted.

A Brooklyn judge granted a change of venue for four men who fought with Court Officers in 2007 because, he said, they could not get a fair trial with those officers present in the same courtroom, infuriating both the officers' union and the Brooklyn District Attorney.

Then, two weeks later Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Desmond A. Green overturned his own ruling.

Judge Green ruled Feb. 4 that the fight pitting the four men—Jesus Gonzalez, Mario Cox, John Meekins and Brian Favors—against Court Officers might influence the judge and jury.

'Didn't Follow the Law'

"The judge's decision did not follow the law," said Court Officers Association President Dennis Quirk. "We make arrests all the time. This will set a precedent. This means every time we make an arrest we will need to change the borough."

Brooklyn DA Charles L. Hynes also protested, saying in a statement, "Respectfully, I believe that the judge is wrong on both the facts and the law so I have directed my staff to take immediate steps to review the decision."

Two weeks later, Judge Green agreed to reconsider his ruling, said a Brooklyn DA spokesman, Jonah Bruno. On Feb. 20, he ruled the case would stay in Brooklyn, but would be decided by a judge from outside the borough.

In his Feb. 4 decision, Judge Green also called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to the case, an authority he did not have, critics argued. "It's our case and he doesn't have the authority to take us off it," was the argument from the Brooklyn DA. The judge later back-pedaled on that too, claiming he said a special prosecutor "should" be appointed but did not actually order one.

The defendants argued that change of venue was necessary because of "the conflict of interest existing with Court Officers in Kings County Criminal Court who may or may not be [victims of the attack] but who may work with the [victims] as well as Judges and other court personnel who regularly rely on these Court Officers," Judge Green noted in his decision.

Quirk Questions Logic

Mr. Quirk argued a change of venue was irrelevant because the court system would have to use Court Officers wherever the proceeding took place. "The Court Officers who were involved in making the arrest wouldn't be involved in this case," he said. "If you go to The Bronx, there would still be Court Officers there."

Judge Green in his initial decision found this situation to be different. "However, in this instance the alleged altercation between defendants and courthouse personnel is so intertwined with the procedures and operations of the court that is reasonable to believe…that it would be difficult for the Kings County Criminal Court to provide a fair and impartial tribunal for this matter to be heard at either a jury or a bench trial," the decision stated.

The defense also argued that a change of venue to Staten Island would be unfair because of a policy endorsed by the Court Officers Association under which that county's DA does not accept plea bargains in cases of assaults on Court Officers. The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office suggested a judge could be brought to Brooklyn to try the case instead. Judge Green Feb. 4 granted the change of venue, transferring the cases to The Bronx "or any other New York City Criminal Court."

The four defendants attended a pretrial hearing on Nov. 30, 2007 for 20 members of the so-called "Bushwick 32," who were arrested while walking to the subway to attend a friend's wake. They were sitting in the audience when they were told to leave for violating court rules. In the hallway, the defendants got into a fight with Court Officers, which led to their arrest for menacing, attempted assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration.