N.Y. Judge Who Helped Robbery Suspect Evade Arrest Is Removed
Dr. Kardasz -
Read the following report and consider:
1. Which typology of unethical behavior was exhibited by the accused?
2. Which decision making process might have prevented the accused from making the wrong decision?
Typologies of unethical behavior - http://kardasz.org/CorruptionTypologies.html
Decision making processes - http://kardasz.org/Decision_Making_Tools.html
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June 15, 2006, John Caher, New York Law Journal
A New York Court of Appeals removed Queens Supreme Court Justice Laura D. Blackburne for helping a robbery suspect evade arrest.
The ruling marked a rare case where the court decided that a judge who had no prior disciplinary record, and had committed misconduct that did not involve personal profit, venality, a breach of trust or moral turpitude, is unfit for the bench.
Blackburne's removal is rooted in an incident two years ago, when she was presiding over the Queens Treatment Court where defendant Derek Sterling appeared. Sterling was undergoing court-ordered treatment at a residential drug treatment program.
That morning, New York City Detective Leonard Devlin appeared at Blackburne's court and advised the court officer that he wanted to question Sterling in connection with a robbery. Devlin waited outside the courtroom and made no attempt to accost the suspect in the courtroom. He waited for the proceeding before Blackburne to conclude.
Meanwhile, the court officer, Sergeant Richard Peterson, informed the judge that Devlin was present and wanted to question Sterling. Blackburne later realized that the detective sought not only to question Sterling, but to arrest him.
Outraged at what she viewed as a "ruse," Blackburne directed Peterson to show Sterling out a secure rear exit to evade the police officer.
Peterson, worried that he would get in trouble if he disregarded Blackburne's directive and fearing that he would be guilty of obstructing justice if he did what she told him, consulted with an assistant district attorney. The prosecutor, Sharon Scott Brooking, agreed it would be inappropriate to help the suspect evade arrest, and so advised both Peterson and Blackburne.
But Blackburne insisted and said that if Peterson did not take Sterling out the back stairwell, she would do so herself.
The court officer, concerned at that point for the judge's safety, reluctantly showed Sterling out.
Sterling was arrested the next day at his drug treatment program and charged with assault and robbery, charges that were ultimately dismissed.
The New York City tabloids had a field day with the incident, denouncing Blackburne as "Let -'Em-Go-Laura" and "Loony Laura" and describing her as a "judicial jerk." She also was harshly criticized by local and state political leaders.
The Police Benevolent Association, the Detectives Endowment Association and Mayor Bloomberg, through Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Carol Robles-Roman, complained to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, which initiated an investigation.
GUILTY OF MISCONDUCT
Following that investigation and a hearing before a referee, former Appellate Division Justice Ernst H. Rosenberger, Blackburne was found guilty of misconduct. The commission then voted 8-2 for removal, with the dissenters contending that censure is a more appropriate penalty for a first-time offense.
On appeal, the sole issue was whether the misconduct in this case was so serious as to warrant the harshest available penalty. For the majority, it seemingly was not a close call.
The majority described Blackburne's conduct as "rash and reckless," and said the judge showed no concern and no respect for the public safety, or, for that matter, for the potential legal predicament in which she was placing Peterson. It said the fact that Sterling returned peacefully to the drug program and apparently did not commit the robbery/assault is of no relevance.
"Things might easily have turned out otherwise," the majority said. "In impeding the legitimate operation of law enforcement by helping a wanted robbery suspect avoid arrest, petitioner placed herself above the law she was sworn to administer, thereby bringing the judiciary into disrepute and undermining public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of her court. [P]etitioner's dangerous actions exceeded all measure of acceptable judicial conduct."
The majority said Blackburne "abandoned her role as a neutral arbiter, and instead became an adversary of the police," a position "completely incompatible with the proper role of an impartial judge."
Michael Marr, a spokesman for the governor, said the administration "is pleased that the Court of Appeals has recognized that a judge who assists a suspected felon in avoiding a lawful arrest exceeds all bounds of acceptable judicial conduct and must be removed from office."
The ruling has no impact on Blackburne's pension, except to the extent that she will have fewer years of service. She was within two years of retirement. She had been suspended with pay pending the court's consideration of her case.