BUSH APPOINTEE in Northern District of New York, Deals Right to Dissent a Death Blow! Options

[Livyjr]

"So, Livyjr ..."

"It appears that New York State Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye does have a CRYSTAL CLEAR CHOICE here in front of her ..."

"If she wants to remain Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals ..."

"LOSE RICKY BROWN ...."

"AND THERE JUST MAY BE A PLACE FOR HER ..."

"IN THE ADMINISTRATION of New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer ..."

"AS A COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE ...."

"REPUDIATE RICKY BROWN ..."

"AND PUT THAT REPUDIATION IN WRITING ...."

"AND MAYBE ..."

"JUST MAYBE ..."

"ELIOT SPITZER WILL KEEP HER ON ..."

"SO LONG AS SHE GIVES UP HER BELIEF THAT:"

"Constitutions assign rights to individuals and impose duties on the government to regulate the government's actions to protect them."

"AND ..."

"It is the failure to fulfill a stated constitutional duty which may support a claim for damages in a constitutional tort action."

"AND ..."

Implicit in this reasoning is the premise that the Constitution is a source of positive law, not merely a set of limitations on government."

"ALL OF WHICH, AS HAS BEEN STATED IN HERE PREVIOUSLY, HAS ALREADY BEEN VERY PUBLICLY REPUDIATED BY NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ELIOT SPITZER IN THIS MATTER UNDER DISCUSSION IN HERE IN 2005, FIRST IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ..."

"AND THEN IN THE FEDERAL SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS IN NEW YORK CITY IN NOVEMBER OF 2005 ...."

"And so, Livyjr ..."

"Such is history made ..."

"And thus is OUR future affected, adversely in this case ..."

"AND ALL OF IT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, SIGHT UNSEEN ...."

"AS A RULE ..."

"AND BUT FOR THIS FORUM ....."

"We wouldn't even know this was happening ..."

"AND HERE WE ARE, UNABLE TO DO A THING ABOUT IT ..."

"WHICH IS A REAL FLAW AND WEAKNESS IN OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT ..."

"WHERE THE JUDICIAL BRANCH IS SO OBVIOUSLY NOT AN INDEPENDENT BRANCH OF OUR GOVERNMENT ..."

"AT EITHER THE STATE OR FEDERAL LEVEL ..."

"AS WAS ENVISIONED BY OUR FOREFATHERS WHEN THEY GAVE US, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, OUR CONSTITUTIONS ..."

"BUT TO THE CONTRARY ...."

"IS SO OBVIOUSLY AN APPENDAGE OF THE EXECUTIVE ..."

"SO THAT WE HAVE RULE BY EXECUTIVE WHIM ..."

"IN PLACE OF RULE OF LAW ..."

And so ....

"So one of the real serious questions facing you people in New York State right now, Livyjr ..."

"As far as I can see ..."

"IS WHETHER CHIEF JUDGE JUDITH KAYE OF THE NEW YORK STATE COURT OF APPEALS WILL SACRIFICE THE INDEPENDENCE AND INTEGRITY OF THE NEW YORK STATE COURT OF APPEALS TO THE AMBITION OF NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND GOVERNOR-ELECT ELIOT SPITZER TO TRANSFORM THE STATE OF NEW YORK INTO 'THE BEST PLACE TO DO BUSINESS IN THE WORLD' ...."

"SO THAT SPITZER IN HIS TURN WILL RE-APPOINT HER TO THAT HIGH COURT AS ONE OF HIS 'ANNOITED ONES' ......"

"TO SPREAD HIS IDEOLOGY ..."

"AND TO DO HIS BIDDING ..."

"OR WILL SHE DETERMINE THAT HER OWN PERSONAL DIGNITY AND SENSE OF SELF-WORTH ARE JUST NOT WORTH THAT SACRIFICE?"

"And only time will tell, Livyjr ..."

"And either way, the clock is ticking ..."

And so ....

"And what we all now get, Livyjr ..."

"Thanks to this CommonGroundCommonSense Forum ..."

"And this thread ..."

"Is that what we think of as OUR judiciary ..."

"Here in the United States of America ...."

"REALLY IS NOT OUR JUDICIARY AT ALL ..."

"NOR IS IT A SEPARATE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT ....."

"WITH INDEPENDENCE FROM THE EXECUTIVE ..."

"Which point is made in spades above here in this following passage from this news item entitled "Bush's Judges Already Making Their Mark", by NANCY BENAC, Associated Press Writer, that was posted on July 10, 2005:"

The cumulative effect, said political scientist Donald Songer of the University of South Carolina, is that "the last three Republican presidents' nominees control virtually the whole judiciary."

"And now, right in front of us, it would seem ..."

"We are all faced with the prospect of the Governor of the State of New York apparently atempting to CO-OPT the Chief Judge of the New York State court of Appeals ..."

"Who he certainly needs on board if he is to transform the State of New York into the best place in the world to do business ..."

"ESPECIALLY IF ELIOT SPITZER WISHES TO CARRY OUT HIS AGENDA OF GUTTING THE PROVISIONS OF THE NEW YORK STATE WORKER'S COMPENSATION LAW ....."

"AND STIFLING DISSENT IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ..."

"OR HE NEEDS HER GONE FROM THE COURT ..."

"EITHER WAY WILL WORK FOR HIM ...."

"WHICH GIVES HIM ALL THE POWER IN THIS MATTER ..."

"BECAUSE ON THE ONE HAND ..."

"HE CAN PRESENT JUDGE KAYE WITH A FAIT ACCOMPLI ..."

"THE FEDERAL SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS UPHELD ELIOT SPITZER'S 'VIEW", AFTER ALL ......."

"THAT CONSTITUTIONS ARE NOT REALLY SOURCES OF POSITIVE LAW, ANYMORE ..."

"NOR DO CONSTITUTIONS ASSIGN RIGHTS TO INDIVIDUALS, ANY LONGER ..."

"NOR DO CONSTITUTIONS IMPOSE DUTIES ON THE GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE THE GOVERNMENT'S ACTIONS TO PROTECT THOSE RIGHTS ..."

"And here, perhaps, Eliot Spitzer might even show Judge Kaye a New York State Mental Hygiene Law 9.45 'PSYCHIATRIC ARREST ORDER' signed by Dr. John Christian Braaten of Northeast Health, Inc. in Troy, New York ..."

"WITH HER OWN NAME ON IT ..."

"KNOWING THAT THERE WOULD BE NOTHING THAT SHE COULD DO ABOUT IT ..."

"FOR IT IS A FAIT ACCOMPLI ..."

"THE FEDERAL SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS ALREADY GIVEN ELIOT SPITZER THAT POWER ..."

"AND HE HAS MADE CLEAR THAT HE IS NOT AFRAID TO USE IT ..."

"And so, Livyjr ..."

"But in actual fact ..."

"Eliot Spitzer does not need to resort to such tactics with Chief judge Kaye ..."

"Since he holds her judgeship over her head ..."

"AND HE HAS MADE CLEAR, AS THIS THREAD DEMONSTRATES, WHAT HIS CONDITIONS ARE ..."

"FOR HER TO MAINTAIN HER SEAT ON THAT HIGH COURT ..."

And so ....

"Judge choices sent to Spitzer - Governor gets names of 7 qualified candidates to be state's top jurist"

By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, January 18, 2007

ALBANY -- The names of seven people qualified to serve as the state's top judge were sent to Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday, including that of incumbent Judith S. Kaye.

A leading judicial reformer on the state Court of Appeals, Kaye, a Sullivan County native now living in Manhattan, has made it clear she wants to remain on the bench after her current 14-year term ends in March.

NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE

April 9, 2007, 4:52 pm

"No Raises for Justices, No Peace"

By Michael Cooper

The judges are crying out for justice.

Judith S. Kaye, the chief judge for the State of New York, held an extraordinary new conference in Albany on Monday to lament the fact that the long-delayed raise for the state’s judges was delayed again this year when it was left out of the budget agreement between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Legislature.

Judge Kaye said that if no action is taken by June on judicial salaries, which have not gone up since 1998, “the only remaining course of action available to us may well be to institute litigation.’’ (Which would, of course, be decided by…judges.)

The sticking point, of course, is Albany horse-trading.

Everyone says they favor pay raises for judges.

But the State Legislature wants to tie a pay raise for judges to a pay raise for itself.

And Governor Spitzer has made it clear that he does not support a pay raise for the Legislature until they show that they have earned it (presumably by acting on some of the bills that he thinks should be passed).

So no one gets a raise.

Judge Kaye used unusually blunt language to call for the raise:

“It is nothing short of disgraceful that we have been brought to this point, that for more than eight years, longer than any other judges in America – likely longer than any workers in any field – New York State judges, for no reason other than Albany politics, have been denied even a cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries.’’

1 comment so far...

April 9th, 2007 7:08 pm

This is indeed a strange story above here concerning these judicial pay raises for several reasons, not the least of which is a statement in a story this afternoon in the upstate Albany Times Union entitled “Chief judge faults ‘Albany politics’ - Kaye complains of ’shabby treatment’ on salaries for the bench” by JAMES M. ODATO, TU Capitol bureau last updated: 2:43 p.m., Monday, April 9, 2007 that:

“She (Judge Kaye) also said she she may take administrative action to hike salaries if the state comptroller and attorney general say she has the authority to do so, but she has rejected a call by some judges to unionize or boycott work.”

As Chief Judge of the NYS Court of Appeals, one would think that Judge Kaye would know the law and the requirements of state Constitution concerning pay raises for state judges better than either the NYS comptroller or the attorney general, especially in light of the language of sect. 1 of ART. VII of the state Constitution concerning that very issue:

Section 1. For the preparation of the budget, the head of each department of state government, except the legislature and judiciary, shall furnish the governor such estimates and information in such form and at such times as the governor may require, copies of which shall forthwith be furnished to the appropriate committees of the legislature.

*****

Itemized estimates of the financial needs of …. the judiciary, approved by the court of appeals and certified by the chief judge of the court of appeals, shall be transmitted to the governor not later than the first day of December in each year for inclusion in the budget without revision but with such recommendations as the governor may deem proper.

Copies of the itemized estimates of the financial needs of the judiciary also shall forthwith be transmitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature.

Presumably, since Judge Kaye was the chief judge of the court of appeals on December 1st of last year, she did in fact comply with this constitutional requirement, which then begs the question of why she would now need to be seeking opinions on this matter from either the state comptroller or the state attorney general.

Then, in a subsequent article this same afternoon in the Albany TU entitled “Kaye says lack of pay raise hurts courts, considers lawsuit” by MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press, last updated: 4:33 p.m., Monday, April 9, 2007, it was further stated:

“Gov. Eliot Spitzer had included a judicial pay increase in his budget proposal, but the increase was tied to the creation of a commission backed by Kaye that would consider the pay levels of all three branches of government.”

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...wsdate=4/9/2007

Now, based on all of this, what it appears like is that what Chief Judge Judith Kaye was doing here with her press conference today, and with this commission of hers that would consider the pay levels of all three branches of government, is playing at blatant politics with this issue of judicial pay raises, which leads me to the thought that these state judges here in NYS cannot any longer maintain public confidence if there are now questions in the minds of us, the general public, as to whether their decisions are influenced by efforts to encourage pay raises, and that thought leads me to the further thought that it is indeed nothing short of disgraceful that WE, THE PEOPLE of the State of New York have been brought to this point of where we now have state judges talking of unionizing and conducting work slow-downs, instead of providing us with equal justice, as OUR state Constitution demands of them …

And so …

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...tices-no-peace/

[Livyjr]

Now, based on all of this, what it appears like is that what Chief Judge Judith Kaye was doing here with her press conference today, and with this commission of hers that would consider the pay levels of all three branches of government, is playing at blatant politics with this issue of judicial pay raises, which leads me to the thought that these state judges here in NYS cannot any longer maintain public confidence if there are now questions in the minds of us, the general public, as to whether their decisions are influenced by efforts to encourage pay raises, and that thought leads me to the further thought that it is indeed nothing short of disgraceful that WE, THE PEOPLE of the State of New York have been brought to this point of where we now have state judges talking of unionizing and conducting work slow-downs, instead of providing us with equal justice, as OUR state Constitution demands of them …

And so …

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...tices-no-peace/

"Chief judge faults 'Albany politics' - Kaye complains of 'shabby treatment' on salaries for the bench"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 2:43 p.m., Monday, April 9, 2007

ALBANY - Blaming "Albany politics" for holding up pay raises for New York judges, Chief Judge Judith Kaye on Monday did not rule out a lawsuit to force bigger paychecks.

"It is nothing short of disgraceful that we have been brought to this point, that for more than eight years, longer than any other judges in America - likely longer than any workers in any field - New York state judges, for no reason other than Albany politics, have been denied even a cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries," Kaye said in a speech at a noon news conference at the Court of Appeals.

She complained of "shabby treatment" of judges and said she is writing to the four legislative leaders, asking for a chance to speak directly to their members in a call for greater pay.

She also said she she may take administrative action to hike salaries if the state comptroller and attorney general say she has the authority to do so, but she has rejected a call by some judges to unionize or boycott work.

"If there is no action on judicial salaries before the Legislature adjourns in June, the only remaining course of action available to us may well be to institute litigation," Kaye said.

Judges pay has been linked to legislative pay raises, but lawmakers have been unwilling to vote to increase their own compensation given the unpopularity of doing so with voters.

Money for judges pay raises - a total of $111 million - was stripped by the Legislature from Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget plan.

Kaye, who is paid $156,000 annually, wants a raise retroactive two years for all judges that would make up for some of the 23 percent reduction in their spending power because of inflation since the last raise in 1999.

[Livyjr]

"Kaye says lack of pay raise hurts courts, considers lawsuit"

By MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:33 p.m., Monday, April 9, 2007

ALBANY -- The state's top judge on Monday said the Legislature's failure to give judges a raise since 1999 is threatening to undermine the judicial system and held out the possibility of a lawsuit to achieve long-sought raises.

Chief Judge Judith Kaye's arguments for judicial raises have been rebuffed by the Legislature for years.

Judicial and legislative raises have traditionally occurred at the same time, but the pay hike for lawmakers is always one of the most politically sensitive issues in Albany.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer had included a judicial pay increase in his budget proposal, but the increase was tied to the creation of a commission backed by Kaye that would consider the pay levels of all three branches of government.

The measure was not included in the final budget accepted by the Legislature and governor.

Kaye wants to raise the salary of state Supreme Court justices, the main trial judges, to $165,200 a year, the same amount made by comparable federal court judges.

Higher ranking appellate court judges would earn more.

Supreme Court judges now earn $136,700 a year, which she said is less than many first-year associates at major New York City law firms.

Kaye said judges cannot maintain public confidence if the there are questions whether their decisions are influenced by efforts to encourage pay raises and said the lack of adequate pay keeps the best lawyers from entering public service.

She noted that some judges have already left the bench for better earnings.

"It is nothing short of disgraceful that we have been brought to this point, that for more than eight years, longer than any other judges in America -- likely longer than any workers in any field -- New York state judges, for no other reason than Albany politics, have been denied even a cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries," she said.

Kaye said she would "exhaust every possible option" before filing a lawsuit.

She said she would first try to meet with lawmakers to press for pay raises, order an independent assessment of the state's judicial pay to press her case and consider issuing an administrative order to give judges a boost in pay or an additional stipend.

She has asked the offices of the attorney general and state comptroller for their opinions on ordering an immediate pay hike under her office's powers.

Kaye, however, said she was reluctant to make such a move because it could compromise the judiciary's credibility.

"The governor agrees with the chief judge that the Legislature should pass a bill granting a pay raise to the judiciary," Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said.

"We had hoped to see it included in the enacted budget, but will work with the chief judge and the legislative leaders to help advance this during the legislative session."

Mark Hansen, spokesman for Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, said the Senate was supportive of Kaye's plan and that it was "still something the Senate is open to discussing" before the end of the Legislative session in June.

Charles Carrier, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, said Silver is "committed" to getting the judges a pay raise before the end of the session.

--------

Associated Press Writer Michael Gormley contributed to this story.

--------

On the Net:

New York state Unified Court System: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/home.htm

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...wsdate=4/9/2007

[Livyjr]

"Kaye willing to sue for pay - State's top jurist calls Albany politics to blame for wage freeze as latest New York budget leaves out judicial salary bumps"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, April 10, 2007

ALBANY -- Blaming "Albany politics" for denying New York's 1,300 judges a pay raise, Chief Judge Judith Kaye on Monday said she's considering a lawsuit to force bigger paychecks.

"It is nothing short of disgraceful that we have been brought to this point," Kaye, the state's top judge for the past 14 years, said in a news conference at the Court of Appeals.

"For more than eight years, longer than any other judges in America -- likely longer than any workers in any field -- New York state judges, for no reason other than Albany politics, have been denied even a cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries."

Despite a two-year lobbying effort for raises, Kaye and her colleagues on the bench have been shut out, most recently with the new state budget.

It was enacted April 1 without $111.4 million Gov. Eliot Spitzer sought for pay hikes for judges retroactive to 2005.

Kaye said such "shabby treatment" of judges demands an offensive that could include suing Spitzer and lawmakers.

First, she said, she will write to the four legislative leaders asking for a chance to appeal directly to their members for greater pay.

She also will invite top leaders and Spitzer to meet to discuss the issue.

She also said she may take administrative action to hike pay if the state comptroller and attorney general say she has the authority to do so.

"If there is no action on judicial salaries before the Legislature adjourns in June, the only remaining course of action available to us may well be to institute litigation," Kaye said.

Judges are "wholly demoralized," she told reporters.

She delivered her speech in a room filled with members of the state's highest court, lawyers and representatives of business, district attorney and bar associations.

Some members of the judiciary have even called for unionizing, work stoppages or the right to take outside jobs, as legislators are allowed to do to augment their base pay of $79,500.

Lawmakers can also get sizable stipends for committee and leadership posts.

Judges' salaries were caught up in negotiations between Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver during the budget talks, several sources said.

"We're getting into linking, and linking and linking here," said Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters.

The League agrees with Kaye that an independent commission must be set up to review and recommend pay raises for public officials, judges and lawmakers.

Pay hikes for judges have been linked historically to lawmakers' compensation, and both have been frozen since 1999.

Previously, when legislators voted themselves a pay hike they also approved raises for judges.

But members of both the Assembly and Senate have been unwilling to vote to fatten their paychecks, given the unpopularity of doing so.

As a result, Court of Appeals judges' pay is locked at $151,200.

Kaye's pay plan calls for an upgrade to $178,416 retroactive to April 1.

Appellate Division judges are paid $144,000, and Kaye wants an increase to $171,808.

State Supreme Court judges get $136,700, and Kaye wants that raised to $165,200, the same pay as a U.S. District Court judge.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. also has been complaining that U.S. judges are woefully underpaid, saying that makes it difficult to recruit the best and brightest.

Kaye, who is paid $156,000 annually, wants a raise, retroactive for two years, for all judges.

Assembly and Senate leaders say they are sympathetic and willing to revisit the issue in the weeks ahead.

"The Senate majority supports her bill," said Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, who has sponsored legislation for unilateral raises for judges, free of the historic ties to legislative pay raises.

"We wanted to get it done in the budget, but we didn't get support."

However, in its one-house budget, the Senate struck out the funding Spitzer called for.

The Assembly proposed only enough money for raises retroactive to this April.

"There's no question about it; if you want to call it Albany politics, there are certain forces that want to make sure that the Legislature gets its pay raise too," Farley said.

Darren Dopp, Spitzer's spokesman, said the governor backs Kaye's pitch, and said lawmakers could yet tackle the issue separately from the state budget.

"Even though the Legislature chose not to include pay increases in the final budget, they can pass a stand-alone bill," he said.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...&TextPage=1

[Livyjr]

NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE

April 9, 2007, 4:52 pm

"No Raises for Justices, No Peace"

By Michael Cooper

The judges are crying out for justice.

Judith S. Kaye, the chief judge for the State of New York, held an extraordinary new conference in Albany on Monday to lament the fact that the long-delayed raise for the state’s judges was delayed again this year when it was left out of the budget agreement between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Legislature.

Judge Kaye said that if no action is taken by June on judicial salaries, which have not gone up since 1998, “the only remaining course of action available to us may well be to institute litigation.’’ (Which would, of course, be decided by…judges.)

The sticking point, of course, is Albany horse-trading.

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...tices-no-peace/

NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE COMMENTS:

2. April 10th, 2007 12:56 am

CHIEF JUDGE JUDITH S. KAYE HONORS HER SACRED OATH TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION BY SERVING NOTICE UPON HER CO-EQUAL BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT TO CURE THEIR FOUL BREACH OF THEIR SACRED OATH THAT NEW YORK SHALL HAVE AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY OR FACE A LAWSUIT THAT CONSTITUTIONALLY REPLENISHES JUDICIAL SALARY

The noble judiciary, state and federal, elective and appointive, our Founding Fathers decided needed to have a political birth, so as to avoid extreme judicial activism.

But they mandated a mechanism for an independent judiciary post-birth, either with life tenure, as with the federal Article III judges, or with long terms, as in New York and a salary that cannot be diminished.

The functioning of the judiciary is predicated upon their independence from politics as well as from their co-equal branches of government so that our separation of powers regime may work, and each judge in the appropriate case feels free to say “no” to power without fear or seeking favor.

Eight long years without even a cost of living increase has caused the1999 salary to be ravaged by corrosive inflation and to illegally pierce the Constitutional floor that bars salary “diminution;” salary protection is the gatekeeper to judicial independence while barring retribution by the co-equal branches of government when their laws are found unconstitutional.

In point of fact, the judiciary deserve a merit-based salary increase well beyond the number sought by the salary-frugal Chief Judge Kaye, dictated as it plainly is by the judges’ caseload shooting skyward.

Chief Justice Roberts has called for the federal judges to be paid approximately $225,000 as a floor for judicial independence that life tenure was meant to insure (judges exiting to earn a living wage damages judicial independence).

Surely, the cost of living in New York exceeds Ohio and New Mexico, while the talent and industry of our New York judges is renowned nationally!

Our Founding Fathers, leaving aside Governor Alfred E. Smith’s assumption of legislative budget power over 75 years ago, mandated that governance be split three-ways so that when it necessarily re-merged to govern, the people’s government would better serve the people.

Self-perpetuation was barred by the separated powers regime, but respectful equal co-dependency was mandated.

Here, the judiciary’s vital independence has been mugged, year after year for eight long years with a diminution in salary caused by a rising cost of living, sometimes higher than the inflation rate depending upon where the judge served in New York State.

Chief Judge Kaye has done everyday New Yorkers proud by standing up and asserting that we will continue to have an impartial and independent judiciary that fashions merit-based justice one case at a time, and in so doing, defended the Constitution and our cherished freedoms delivered everyday in courtrooms across New York State.

While no one can argue that those who toil in the executive and legislative branches of government also deserve a pay increase just to regain lost ground, but their similar condition isn’t constitutionally protected with a bar against diminution in salary as in the case of the judiciary, for they can cause gridlock to get what they want and delay budget passage past April 1 as we have experienced in the past.

The judiciary’s sole constitutional protection for being independent was that they cannot be punished with a salary decrease, as has occurred here over eight years.

This is a constitutional crisis that has left our noble judiciary financially bleeding, an insult that must addressed swiftly and respectfully.

The legacy of Chief Judge Kaye is enhanced in history as she valiantly does battle to protect the very honor of the judiciary: its vital independence.

Dated: 4/9/07
/s/
Ravi Batra

— Posted by Ravi Batra

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...peace/#comments

[Livyjr]

NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE COMMENTS:

3. April 10th, 2007 9:25 am

Emotional press conferences by Chief Judge Judith Kaye in a room filled with members of the state’s highest court, lawyers and representatives of business, district attorney and bar associations aside ….

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...sdate=4/10/2007

And flowery press releases by Ravi Batra aside, as well, the REAL ISSUE here has to do with restoring constitutional processes of government with respect to budgeting to WE, THE PEOPLE, who were not at all in attendance at this press conference, nor were we at all represented in this press conference called by Judge Kaye, which is quite a telling statement about where matters now lie in NYS with respect to the lack of independence and integrity of the court system in NYS, given that lawyers and representatives of business were in attendance at this press conference.

In 1996, in Ricky Brown et al. v. State of New York, 89 NY2d 172, the New York State Court of Appeals stated:

“Constitutions assign rights to individuals and impose duties on the government to regulate the government’s actions to protect them.”

“The underlying rationale for the decision, in simplest terms, is that constitutional guarantees are worthy of protection on their own terms without being linked to some common-law or statutory tort, and that the courts have the obligation to enforce these rights by ensuring that each individual receives an adequate remedy for violation of a constitutional duty.”

“If the remedy is not forthcoming from the political branches of government, then the courts must provide it by recognizing a damage remedy against the violators much the same as the courts earlier recognized and developed equitable remedies to enjoin unconstitutional actions.”

“Implicit in this reasoning is the premise that the Constitution is a source of positive law, not merely a set of limitations on government.”

IF Chief Judge Judith Kaye wishes to restore integrity to the state court system here in NYS, and if she wishes the people to believe that the court system here in NYS is not simply another willing mouthpiece for the politicians, perhaps what Judge Kaye should have done was to quote from OUR Constitution at this emotional press conference of hers, and she should not have been seen standing in a room full of lawyers and representatives of business while discussing “horse-trading” with the Legislature, which does not represent OUR interests as mere state citizens, and the “STEAMROLLER”, who is seen by WE, THE PEOPLE as having less integrity than the Legislature.

Judith Kaye appears to want money in her pocket a lot more than she seems interested in equal justice for us here in NYS, for which the sentiment out here in the countryside is that she and her court system are not worth a dime.

And so …

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...peace/#comments

[Livyjr]

“Constitutions assign rights to individuals and impose duties on the government to regulate the government’s actions to protect them.”

“If the remedy is not forthcoming from the political branches of government, then the courts must provide it by recognizing a damage remedy against the violators much the same as the courts earlier recognized and developed equitable remedies to enjoin unconstitutional actions.”

“Implicit in this reasoning is the premise that the Constitution is a source of positive law, not merely a set of limitations on government.”

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...peace/#comments

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE RENSSELAER COUNTY LEGISLATURE TAKEN FROM THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION LOCAL POLITICS BLOG:

WE, THE PEOPLE out here in Rensselaer County who are paying the property taxes that keep this clown show called Rensselaer County government running want to know why the Rensselaer County Legislature used our county property tax dollars to provide legal services for Carl Richard Aiken, a politically-connected engineer from East Greenbush, and Kevin Joseph McGrath, a politically-connected land surveyor from Poestenkill, in Matter of Plante, P.E. v. Jimino et al in 2005, and we want to know why the Rensselaer County Legislature condones the use of Rensselaer County employees to obtain a fraudulent involuntary psychiatric commitment order for Plante from Samaritan Hospital in 2001, so as to destroy his credibility as a witness for us against the Rensselaer County Department of Health ….

We also want to know how Jeffrey Pelletier of Poestenkill became a “protected person” in Rensselaer County according to Rensselaer County Veterans’ Service Agency Director Robert “BOB” Reiter, so that Pelletier could assault Plante with inpunity, without any fear at all of being prosecuted in Rensselaer County for that assault, which was recorded on videotape, which videotape has been in the possession of Rensselaer County since August of 2001 …

If the county legislature does not know the answers to those questions today, we will simply come back tomarrow, and ask them all over again, as we are indeed patient people out here in the countryside …

And so …

Comment by John Galt — April 9, 2007 @ 3:59 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=63#comments

[Livyjr]

Comment by John Galt — April 10, 2007 @ 7:48 pm

With respect to this issue of “support” for Chief Judge Judith Kaye in her quest for more money for her pocket and for the pockets of her fellow judges in NYS, I personally am signing on to the thoughts of one of our fellow disabled veterans up here which were posted in the NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE this morning with respect to this very issue:

April 10th, 2007 9:25 am

Emotional press conferences by Chief Judge Judith Kaye in a room filled with members of the state’s highest court, lawyers and representatives of business, district attorney and bar associations aside ….

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...sdate=4/10/2007

And flowery press releases by Ravi Batra aside, as well, the REAL ISSUE here has to do with restoring constitutional processes of government with respect to budgeting to WE, THE PEOPLE, who were not at all in attendance at this press conference, nor were we at all represented in this press conference called by Judge Kaye, which is quite a telling statement about where matters now lie in NYS with respect to the lack of independence and integrity of the court system in NYS, given that lawyers and representatives of business were in attendance at this press conference.

In 1996, in Ricky Brown et al. v. State of New York, 89 NY2d 172, the New York State Court of Appeals stated:

“Constitutions assign rights to individuals and impose duties on the government to regulate the government’s actions to protect them.”

“The underlying rationale for the decision, in simplest terms, is that constitutional guarantees are worthy of protection on their own terms without being linked to some common-law or statutory tort, and that the courts have the obligation to enforce these rights by ensuring that each individual receives an adequate remedy for violation of a constitutional duty.”

“If the remedy is not forthcoming from the political branches of government, then the courts must provide it by recognizing a damage remedy against the violators much the same as the courts earlier recognized and developed equitable remedies to enjoin unconstitutional actions.”

“Implicit in this reasoning is the premise that the Constitution is a source of positive law, not merely a set of limitations on government.”

IF Chief Judge Judith Kaye wishes to restore integrity to the state court system here in NYS, and if she wishes the people to believe that the court system here in NYS is not simply another willing mouthpiece for the politicians, perhaps what Judge Kaye should have done was to quote from OUR Constitution at this emotional press conference of hers, and she should not have been seen standing in a room full of lawyers and representatives of business while discussing “horse-trading” with the Legislature, which does not represent OUR interests as mere state citizens, and the “STEAMROLLER”, who is seen by WE, THE PEOPLE as having less integrity than the Legislature.

Judith Kaye appears to want money in her pocket a lot more than she seems interested in equal justice for us here in NYS, for which the sentiment out here in the countryside is that she and her court system are not worth a dime.

And so …

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...peace/#comments

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4359#comments

While I am not generally a fan of Mr. Galt’s reasoning, I must give him all due kudos for this one.

This post should be a veritable sine qua non for every legislator and judge in the State of New York.

While most of them would not appreciate the cogent arguments proffered, at least a few neurons in the cerebrum should be stimulated.

Comment by Phana24JG — April 10, 2007 @ 9:21 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4359#comments

[Livyjr]

"Duke DA apologizes to players"

By AARON BEARD, Associated Press Writer

39 minutes ago

DURHAM, N.C. - The local prosecutor who charged three Duke lacrosse players with raping a stripper apologized to the athletes Thursday and said the North Carolina attorney general's decision to drop the case was right.

"To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused," Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong said.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Roy Cooper not only dropped all remaining charges against the players Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, but pronounced them innocent and said they were the victims of Nifong's "tragic rush to accuse."

Cooper branded Nifong a "rogue" prosecutor who was guilty of "overreaching."

"I have every confidence that the decision to dismiss all the charges was the correct decision based on that evidence," Nifong said.

In what appeared to be a plea to the athletes not to take any further action, such as a lawsuit, he said:

"It is my sincere desire that the actions of Attorney General Cooper will serve to remedy any remaining injury that has resulted from these cases."

Nifong refused to answer any questions after handing the statement to an Associated Press reporter outside his office in Durham.

Seligmann's attorney, Jim Cooney, responded bitterly to the apology.

"You can accept an apology from someone who knows all the facts and simply makes an error," Cooney said.

"If a person refuses to know all the facts and then makes a judgment, that's far worse — particularly when that judgment destroys lives."

Nifong stressed that it was own decision to remove himself from the case that gave Cooper's office the opportunity to review the evidence against the athletes.

"If I did not want to subject ... my own performance to such scrutiny — if, in other words, I had anything to hide — I could have simply dismissed the cases myself," he said.

"The fact that I instead chose to seek that review should, in and of itself, call into question the characterizations of this prosecution as 'rogue' and 'unchecked.'"

Evans' attorney, Joseph Cheshire, accused Nifong of engaging in "revisionist history" with his statement.

"It's not an apology."

"It's an excuse."

"It's an attempt at an excuse," Cheshire said.

"It's not an acceptance of responsibility."

"It's a self-serving attempt to excuse bad behavior."

[Livyjr]

NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE

April 12, 2007, 3:20 pm

"Lagging on Pollution Reviews"

By Anthony DePalma

The state of New York routinely fails to review the pollution permits of hundreds of factories, generating stations, sewage treatment plants and other operations that discharge billions of gallons of contaminated water into the state’s rivers and lakes, according to a study [pdf] released today by Environmental Advocates of New York, a citizens group.

The lack of regular reviews means that regulators cannot accurately keep track of the substantial amount of pollutants that are allowed to enter the state’s waters.

Update: An article for the daily metro report has further details, including the Spitzer administration’s response.

1 comment so far...

April 12th, 2007 7:26 pm

In 1969, at a time when I was in Viet Nam as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, I voted to amend the NY Constitution by adding this following language to ARTICLE XIV of the NY Constitution entitled “Conservation”:

§ 4. “The policy of the state shall be to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other agricultural products.”

“The legislature, in implementing this policy, shall include adequate provision for the abatement of air and water pollution and of excessive and unnecessary noise, the protection of agricultural lands, wetlands and shorelines, and the development and regulation of water resources.”

In 1970, that constitutional language became “law of the land” here in NYS, which is why I personally chose to return here as a disabled combat veteran coming home from Viet Nam, as opposed to any other state in the union that did not have such a provision protecting our water resources in their state constitutions.

And as it turned out, my state job in environmental enforcement with the NYS Health Dept. that I had taken a military leave of absence from to go to Viet Nam had been transferred to the newly created NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, so that I was one of the original employees of the NYSDEC who had previous experience in an enforcement capacity, and it was a real education in how politics trumps law and constitutions working at that highly-political state agency back then.

Based on my experiences at the NYSDEC in the early-1970’s, and based on solid evidence, such as the Hearing Officer’s Report In Re General Electric, File No. 2833, dated February 9, 1976, which is the hearing report for the PCB’s that now contaminate the upper Hudson River, it can fairly be said that the State of NY has not been doing its job of regulating businesses and curbing pollution on purpose, and with intent.

In the GE Hearing report above, the Hearing Officer notes, quite candidly, that:

“In this interim opinion, the hearing officer holds that General Electric Company’s (GE)discharges of PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls) into the upper Hudson River violate the New York Environmental Conservation Law (ECL).”

“GE’s PCB discharges are toxic substances capable of causing skin lesions, destroying body cells, adversely affecting reproduction and inducing cancer and death.”

“As an affirmative defense, GE asserts that its conduct is immunized from state law penalties by virtue of its being specifically authorized in a series of permits granted under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.”

I myself was involved in the background of those hearings on the engineering side, and I will say that based on the evidence, the NYSDEC had handed the GE a license to destroy the upper Hudson River, and GE did, since that litigation lingers to this day, with no remedial action taken by GE to date to rectify the harm it has done in upstate NY.

As to the negligent role of the NYSDEC in that fiasco, the Hearing Officer had this to say:

“However negligent the department (NYSDEC) may have been in granting GE a permit to discharge those large amounts, the permit and the ECL (New York State Environmental Conservation Law) required GE to conform its effluent to stream classification standards.”

“This proceeding is designed to protect public resources, and cannot be made into a forum for determining the relative fault of GE and the department (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation).”

And thus, the present day and age being discussed in this very BLOG-article above here was born, right with those very words.

The DEC itself got a “pass” in that no one ever went back and did an official assessment of that negligence, and the one licensed professional engineer up this way with the knowledge and qualifications to continue with this investigation was himself branded as a dangerous mental patient by the State of NY, which has had the effect of destroying his credibility in a court of law as an expert witness for the PEOPLE of NYS ….

And so, here we are, right now today, and the future of the environment upon we all must depend for our health and well-being here in NYS looks bleak, as a result …

And so ….

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...views/#comments

[Livyjr]

NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE

April 12, 2007, 4:30 pm

"The Shape of Things"

By Danny Hakim

During a news conference today, Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of New York State, said the 51st Senate district looked like “Abraham Lincoln riding on a vacuum cleaner.”

Looking at the map of the district, The Empire Zone concedes a likeness:

Ms. Bartoletti and representatives from other so-called good government groups were repeating their perennial call for redistricting reform, which is thought to be a nonstarter for Assembly Democrats and Senate Republicans who like to draw district lines to their favor.

Still, looking at some of the district maps can be enlightening.

Some, like the 60th Senate district, are not even contiguous, except “at low tide” as Ms. Bartoletti put it.

The groups have a better shot with another formidable challenge, campaign finance reform, which is on Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s to-do list when the legislature returns to Albany next week.

Comments so far...

April 13th, 2007 7:56 am

With respect to “goo-goo” groups and individuals like Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of New York State “repeating their perennial call for redistricting reform, which is thought to be a nonstarter for Assembly Democrats and Senate Republicans who like to draw district lines to their favor”, they should all do themselves and their credibility a real big favor by quoting to us common folks out here in the countryside in NYS from ART. III of the NYS Constitution, which is where one finds the only lawful procedures that there presently are in NYS for creating senate and assembly districts.

And with respect to senate districts, specifically, sect. 4 of ART. III states that:

“Such districts shall be so readjusted or altered that each senate district shall contain as nearly as may be an equal number of inhabitants, excluding aliens, and be in as compact form as practicable, and shall remain unaltered until the first year of the next decade as above defined, and shall at all times consist of contiguous territory, and no county shall be divided in the formation of a senate district except to make two or more senate districts wholly in such county.”

If Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of New York State, and these “goo-goo” groups want real “reform” of OUR government here in NYS, that reform had better be entirely consistent with what is presently written in OUR state Constitution, or else, like this Barbara Bartoletti, they will be seen by us older folks living here in NYS as having absolutely no credibility, whatsoever.

And if the League of Women Voters of New York State really wants to “strike a blow” for freedom and justice here in NYS with respect to these unlawful and unconstitutional senate district apportionments, they should do so in strict accordance with this following language straight out of sect. 4 of ART. III of OUR NY Constitution:

“An apportionment by the legislature, or other body, shall be subject to review by the supreme court, at the suit of any citizen, under such reasonable regulations as the legislature may prescribe; and any court before which a cause may be pending involving an apportionment, shall give precedence thereto over all other causes and proceedings, and if said court be not in session it shall convene promptly for the disposition of the same.”

But, of course, for such a lawsuit to happen, WE, THE PEOPLE would require a truly independent state court system here in NYS, which we do not presently have, because the political lawyer-judges that we are now stuck with here in NYS have us common citizens here in NYS “locked out” of court, so that we can’t make these constitutional challenges, unless we are rich enough to be able to “buy” ourselves a lawyer from the NYS Bar Assn. to get us “in the door”, which is something that you never hear a peep about from people like this Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of New York State.

Of course, if WE, THE PEOPLE could actually get into court to make these constitutional challenges to apportionment of senate districts without having to pay extortionate fees to some lawyer to “carry our water” for us, then there really would be no need for people like this Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of New York State, and her hand-wringing press conferences, which would mean that she would then have to find some other type of employment, other than being a perpetual hand-wringer who is always holding a press conference, but is never seen as doing anything substantive with respect to true reform of OUR government here in NYS, to make it consistent with what OUR state Constitution demands it be …

And so ….

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...hape-of-things/

[Livyjr]

NY TIMES EMPIRE ZONE COMMENTS:

April 10th, 2007 9:25 am

Emotional press conferences by Chief Judge Judith Kaye in a room filled with members of the state’s highest court, lawyers and representatives of business, district attorney and bar associations aside ….

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...sdate=4/10/2007

And flowery press releases by Ravi Batra aside, as well, the REAL ISSUE here has to do with restoring constitutional processes of government with respect to budgeting to WE, THE PEOPLE, who were not at all in attendance at this press conference, nor were we at all represented in this press conference called by Judge Kaye, which is quite a telling statement about where matters now lie in NYS with respect to the lack of independence and integrity of the court system in NYS, given that lawyers and representatives of business were in attendance at this press conference.

In 1996, in Ricky Brown et al. v. State of New York, 89 NY2d 172, the New York State Court of Appeals stated:

“Constitutions assign rights to individuals and impose duties on the government to regulate the government’s actions to protect them.”

“The underlying rationale for the decision, in simplest terms, is that constitutional guarantees are worthy of protection on their own terms without being linked to some common-law or statutory tort, and that the courts have the obligation to enforce these rights by ensuring that each individual receives an adequate remedy for violation of a constitutional duty.”

“If the remedy is not forthcoming from the political branches of government, then the courts must provide it by recognizing a damage remedy against the violators much the same as the courts earlier recognized and developed equitable remedies to enjoin unconstitutional actions.”

“Implicit in this reasoning is the premise that the Constitution is a source of positive law, not merely a set of limitations on government.”

IF Chief Judge Judith Kaye wishes to restore integrity to the state court system here in NYS, and if she wishes the people to believe that the court system here in NYS is not simply another willing mouthpiece for the politicians, perhaps what Judge Kaye should have done was to quote from OUR Constitution at this emotional press conference of hers, and she should not have been seen standing in a room full of lawyers and representatives of business while discussing “horse-trading” with the Legislature, which does not represent OUR interests as mere state citizens, and the “STEAMROLLER”, who is seen by WE, THE PEOPLE as having less integrity than the Legislature.

Judith Kaye appears to want money in her pocket a lot more than she seems interested in equal justice for us here in NYS, for which the sentiment out here in the countryside is that she and her court system are not worth a dime.

And so …

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...peace/#comments

Times Herald-Record

"Trials & Tribulations: Albany's 'judgment' day May 1"

April 13, 2007

If the people who run New York state don't ante up some money for judges, we could be hearing chants of "no judges, no peace" in Albany come May 1.

That's Law Day.

It's also the day that some of the 1,300 judges who get paid by the state are selecting as their own day of outrage.

Judges are generally a pretty restrained bunch, but New York's judges haven't seen a raise since 1999.

So that's why e-mails like this one are being fired around an electronic mailing list:

"Close your calendars May 1."

"It's short of a strike."

"However, commitment from all judges acting as one will 'show them' that we have the will and our will is what it's going to take to get their respect," writes a judge from the Buffalo area.

By "them," the judges don't mean us, the public.

They mean the three-headed Albany dragon that runs New York: Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Traditionally, raises for judges are tied to raises for state lawmakers.

So much for that whole separation-of-powers deal we learned about in grade school.

A state Supreme Court justice earns $136,700 in this part of New York.

In one lively e-mail exchange between judges who sit outside the mid-Hudson, a judge says, "The average Joe or Josephine thinks that is too much already."

Another judge replies that the average "Joe or Josephine thinks that athletes make way too much, but they still buy season tickets."

A spokesman for the state court system predicts that A Day Without Judges wouldn't be well-received by Joe or Josephine Average, or by the bosses: Chief Judge Judith Kaye and Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman.

"We expect that the judges will comport themselves in a professional and judicious manner, and understand that to harm the public would in no way help their cause," said David Bookstaver, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration.

Kaye pointed out this week that New York ranks 38th in the country for judicial pay when you factor in cost-of-living increases.

Even without the cost-of-living factor, New York's state-paid judges rank 11th in the country in salaries, according to the National Center for State Courts.

And state workers with union contracts have seen raises, unlike the state's judges.

Kaye said that judges might have to resort to suing the state over their salaries.

That would be a history-making lawsuit.

The New York Law Journal has published articles about kids going straight from law school to New York City firms and making more money than judges, right out of the gate.

And while private-sector lawyers can pile up billable hours until their wingtips squeak, judges can't do any other legal work besides being judges.

But in an age of $3-a-gallon gas and the precarious financial condition of big chunks of upstate New York, the idea of judges marching on Albany for economic justice might not go over too well with the vast majority of people who aren't judges.

Which may be why one judge on Long Island sent this e-mail to her colleagues: "It is important to communicate, but this is not a secure site."

Trials & Tribulations is the Times Herald-Record's weekly roundup of news, updates and anecdotes about local courts and criminal justice. Tips and threats are welcome. Call Oliver Mackson at 346-3130 or e-mail omackson@th-record.com.

Judicial outrage

Here are some e-mail excerpts from an electronic mailing list used by New York judges:

"When a public official demands a payment to himself for the performance of his (or her) official functions it's called a 'BRIBE,' but when a public official demands a pay raise for approving a long-overdue pay raise for judges, it's called POLITICS" - Delaware County Court Judge Carl Becker

"Simply put, the 'three men in a room' believe we have no negotiating power and we need to show them we do."

"We are the workers without whom the courts cannot function." - Erie County state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Glownia

"Why shouldn't marching or demonstrating be part of a 'new dynamic?'"

"Would it be counterproductive for some reason?" - Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Joan Madden

"Justice Glownia is right - perhaps all judges should close their calendars May 1st and meet in Albany."

"It may not be the most dignified approach, but it will show unity."

"For those judges unwilling to march on Albany, just close your calendars." - Erie County Family Court Judge Kevin Carter

"The public does need to be educated both as to why we deserve an adjustment and why we have not been getting one" - Brooklyn state Supreme Court Justice Wayne Saitta

"Heck, we have correction officers in Nassau who transport prisoners earning more than judges" - Nassau County District Court Judge Jerald Carter

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...337%2F-1%2FNEWS

[Livyjr]

The New York Observer Politicker

"Cuomo 'Totally' Supports Judicial Raises"

Andrew Cuomo is frimly supporting efforts by state judges to force a pay raise.

"I support it totally," said the attorney general in a rare interview this morning on WROW.

"She is right," he said of the state's Chief Judge, Judith Kaye, who is leading the effort.

"You know, we're in this conundrum."

"We need to get the best and the brightest into public service, especially in the judiciary."

"And, especially in the legal community, you have to pay a wage that is going to attract the talent.

"You can't have a situation where you're paying judges basically less than you're paying first year legal associates who are coming out of top schools."

Cuomo went on to say his office was asked by Kaye to research the feasibility of a suit against lawmakers to force them to raise judicial salaries.

State judges haven't gotten a raise since 1999.

Kaye currently makes $156,000 a year.

-- Azi Paybarah

http://thepoliticker.observer.com/2007/04/...ial-raises.html

[Livyjr]

NEW YORK POST

"GOV TO RAOUL: QUIT - OR ELSE GOV. SPITZER - Dismayed by 'Schmucks!'"

April 16, 2007 -- GOV. SPITZER yesterday called on celebrity lawyer Raoul Felder to quit the state Commission on Judicial Conduct or face possible ouster because of "inappropriate" comments in his new book, "Schmucks," co-authored with comic Jackie Mason.

"The comments that are in the book are inappropriate and simply wrong for one who sits, as Mr. Felder does, in a position as chair of a commission that judges the behavior of judges," Spitzer, a former attorney general and a Harvard Law graduate, told The Post.

"It is one matter for him to say, 'I have First Amendment rights,' as, of course, he does."

"But it is a totally different matter for him to make comments that would be highly inappropriate for members of the bench and for him to sit and pass judgment on our judges, who made similar comments that would be appropriately criticized and lead to sanctions."

"In light of this fact, I think it would be appropriate for Mr. Felder to seriously consider resigning his position as both chairman and as a member of the commission."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04162007/news/...c_u__dicker.htm

FROM THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

With respect to "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer agreeing with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct that its chairman, celebrity divorce attorney Raoul Felder, should go because his new book, co-authored with comic Jackie Mason, is "inappropriate", we countryfolks up here would refer your readers to what we call up here the "Lawyers' and Judges' Coming Out of the Closet" speech by Michael P. Friedman, President of the Albany County Bar Association, dated March 2003, and if one scrolls down to the 2d page, one sees the smiling face of Chief Judge Judith Kaye in the same publication, and I would maintain to "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer and the state Commission on Judicial Conduct that it was this very document, which received wide distribution up this way, long before this Felder book became an issue, that served to destroy any illusions that anyone up this way had about the integrity of the bar and judiciary in NYS, and by appearing in this document along with many of her fellow judges, it is our opinion that Judge Judith Kaye failed to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and that failure on her part then caused a major erosion in any trust and confidence the public up here might have had for the judiciary, as can be seen in these following excerpts from the "THE LAWYERS IN NY COME OUT OF THE CLOSET" SPEECH, and this at a time when the "STEAMROLLER" himself was up in Albany, serving as the state's top lawyer:

"As I spoke, I realized that the practice of law is essentially amoral."

"Our advice to clients is not designed to guide anyone in ethical behavior."

"We do not exist to tell anyone what is right or wrong."

"We are all but prohibited from doing so!"

"Our duty is to advise of the legal consequences of actions, and to promote the interests of our client within the boundaries of the legal system."

"For this reason, we do not necessarily advise the guilty to accept their punishment, nor do we chastise the adulterer, the negligent driver and the trespasser."

"So, we don't deal in fairness, we deal in legal results, without regard to ethics."

"You think clients come to us for our opinions on good and evil?"

"Think again, Jack."

"We are not the clergy."

"After all, it is just 'Ethical Considerations' in the Code of Professional Responsibility, as in 'OK, I've considered it, now here's what we do' ....."

"It is this fine line between the practice of law and the absence of moral judgment that confounds the public in so many ways."

"After all, we stand in defense of the most heinous members of our society, and I'm not just talking about defense negligence lawyers here, of course."

http://www.albanycountybar.com/MarNL-03.pdf

Posted by: John Galt | April 16, 2007 8:02 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._2.php#comments

[Livyjr]

NY1 NEWS - Top Stories

"Clarence Norman Sentenced To Additional Time In Jail"

April 16, 2007

Former Brooklyn Democratic leader Clarence Norman was sentenced Monday to another one to three years in prison.

In February, a jury found Norman guilty of demanding money from a judicial candidate in exchange for his support.

The trial was the last of four criminal cases against Norman.

In two previous trials, he was found guilty of stealing funds from his own re-election campaign and concealing contributions made to him.

He has already been sentenced to two to six years in prison, but he is out on bail.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?s...1&aid=68777

[Livyjr]

So, quess what, members of the state Commission on Judicial Conduct and “STEAMROLLER” Spitzer, as well, out here in the countryside, you already didn’t have a lot of credibility before this celebrity divorce lawyer who is your chair wrote this book, because you had for your chair a celebrity divorce lawyer, who is not looked upon by us more conservative countryfolks up here as any kind of role model that we would care to emulate, nor do we find ourselves overly impressed or confident about the type of values that a celebrity divorce lawyer would bring to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, and that was before he wrote the book.

And we are curious, with a man whose job it is to make someone’s spouse look bad before a judge to get a better settlement for his high-paying client, what exactly is it that he would then find unprofessional in a judge, who happens to be a member of the bar, as well as Felder.

And so …..

— Posted by Livyjr

http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/0...or-us/#comments

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Can't fix this! Brooklyn judge Garson guilty of bribes"

BY NANCIE L. KATZ, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, April 20th 2007, 4:00 AM

A disgraced Brooklyn judge, who was caught on hidden cameras accepting boxes of cigars and expensive liquor during cozy meetings with a crooked lawyer, was convicted yesterday of fixing divorce cases.

Former Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson did not react when the jury, which deliberated for two days, found him guilty of receiving bribes and official misconduct.

He was acquitted of four other lesser counts.

The ex-judge faces up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing in June.

During the four-week trial, prosecutors showed Brooklyn jurors excerpts of hundreds of hours of profanity-laced audio and videotapes of Garson, 75, accepting boxes of expensive cigars, top-shelf liquor and other gifts from his pal Paul Siminovsky from October 2002 to March 2003.

Siminovsky testified against Garson.

"We proved the court system is corrupt," said Frieda Hanimov, who in 2002 raised suspicions that Garson was accepting bribes to fix divorce cases.

She had been told her husband, who was divorcing her, paid a bribe to win custody of their children.

"It's a big shame."

"It proves no citizen should trust anyone in the court system," she said.

Garson's conviction comes as the result of a wider investigation District Attorney Charles Hynes conducted into whether judgeships were being bought and sold.

The probe nabbed the head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Clarence Norman, who was convicted three times, including once for forcing a judicial candidate to pay $10,000 to Norman's pals or lose his political machine's support.

Garson's attorney, Michael Washor, vowed to appeal.

He called the videotapes a "Class-D" movie that created the "illusion of criminal conduct."

nkatz@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file...arson_guil.html

[Livyjr]

New York Daily News Daily Politics

"Brooklyn's Double Whammy - It's not a good day for Brooklyn Democratic politics"

Not only was former Kings County Democratic Party Treasurer and ex-state Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson found guilty on charges of accepting bribes and official misconduct, but a federal judge said two-time 40th Council special election candidate Eugene Mathieu manipulated the election process in order to get on the ballot the second time around.

The Politicker has helpfully posted the decision that restored Eugene's opponent, Wellington Sharpe, to the ballot.

The New York Law Journal (unfortunately, subscription only) wrote about both Brooklyn stories today.

In the case of Garson, a Brooklyn political observer wrote in to note that the former judge is joining a long list of disgraced jurists from the borough, which includes, but is not necessarily limited to:

Victor Baron, elected to the Supreme Court in 1998, who was caught on videotape in his chambers accepting $18,000 in marked bills;

Reynold Mason, who had served on the Supreme Court bench since 1997, and was removed by the Court of Appeals on May 1st, 2003 for unethical conduct;

Michael Garson (brother of Gerry Garson) a former Supreme court judge forced off the bench for looting his dead aunt's fortune;

and Michael Feinberg, the Brooklyn Surrogate judge removed from the bench for looting the estates of the dead.

They join former favorite of the Brooklyn organization City Councilmember Angel Rodreguiez, who was convicted of taking bribes to fix a development project; former Assemblyman Roger Green, convicted of padding expenses, and, of course, our former Kings County Democratic party leader Clarence Norman who has been convicted in three separate cases (and just this week was sentenced to yet more jail time).

If you've got more, feel free to let me know.

This observer further notes that the current Brooklyn judiciary is filled with additional relatives and friends of the County Democratic organization (see his rundown after the jump).

"The bottom line in Brooklyn it's who you know," he writes.

"The thousands of highly-qualified lawyers who would give their right arm to be a judge have no chance against these insiders."

"The time for merit selection is now!"

Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced his support of merit selection during his first State of the State address in January.

The New York State Bar Association has proposed a model plan for merit selection.

District Leader Dilia Schack's husband Arthur is a Supreme Court judge, District Leader Lori Knipel's husband Larry is a Supreme Court judge, District Leader Earl Williams daughter Jacqueline is a Civil court judge, County Leader Lopez's girl friend's brother is Supreme Court judge Jack Battaglia, Lopez daugther Gina is a Court of Claims judge, District Leader Roberta Sherman's son Kenny is a Civil Court judge, disgraced former Executive Director of the Brooklyn Democrat party Jeffrey Feldman's wife is Brooklyn Supreme Court judge Marsha Stenhardt, Supreme Court judge Yvonne Lewis is the god daughter of District Leader Assemblywoman Annette Robinson.

Supreme Court judge Karen Rothenberg was Gerry Garson's law partner, Acting Supreme Court judge Rachel Amy Adams is the former law clerk to convicted judge Victor Barron as well as being the wife of Greg Brooks, former borough President Howard Golden's Chief of staff.

Supreme Court judge Abe Gerges is a former party operative and former City Councilmember, Supreme Court judge Martin Solomon is a party mainstay and a former NY State Senator.

Civil Court judge Robin Garson is the wife of convicted judge Gerry Garson.

Supreme Court judge Michael Pesce is a former Assemblyman.

Posted by Elizabeth Benjamin on April 20, 2007 12:14 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...hammy.html#more

[Livyjr]

"Agency let slide parole failures - Documents confirm Times Union report that felons remained free despite violations; instead of disciplining those responsible, investigators searched for leaks"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Senior writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, April 22, 2007

ALBANY -- An internal investigation by state parole officials found that parole managers incorrectly allowed convicted felons to remain free and commit new crimes, but the state agency's leaders took no action against those found responsible.

Instead, the Division of Parole, then under the control of Gov. George Pataki, kept the results of their inquiry private and pursued charges against the people they suspected of leaking information to the Times Union.

The whole affair unfolded after a July 2005 Times Union report revealed how parolees who violated the terms of their release remained free and went on to commit crimes such as rape and murder.

Internal affairs investigators confirmed the newspaper's account, according to documents the Times Union has since obtained.

Dozens of pages of internal parole documents described how policies were violated and the advice of many parole officers was ignored by supervisors who rewrote reports and manipulated hearings to let rogue parolees go free.

Internal affairs investigators recommended varying degrees of discipline for the managers and some parole officers deemed responsible, but nothing was done.

Meanwhile, a confidential source who was involved with the case says the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility, which served as an internal affairs unit and was recently disbanded, may have used investigative subpoenas to sift through the personal phone records of parole officers and attached global positioning satellite devices to their personal vehicles to track their movements.

In response to a Freedom of Information Law request, state officials acknowledged that those subpoenas may exist, but they declined to release the records.

The Times Union is appealing the decision.

On Saturday, the agency issued a written statement acknowledging subpoenas were used to access the telephone records of parole officers.

Officials said the subpoenas were used in "personnel" investigations and not as part of the hunt for people who may have leaked information to the newspaper.

In addition, the statement said, "the Division of Parole has not attached a GPS device to the vehicle of any parole officer to monitor their activity."

The subpoenas and satellite devices are used by the agency to keep tabs on parolees, including sex offenders.

Agency officials were not available to answer questions about their policies on the use of subpoenas and the satellite devices.

It's not clear under what authority the subpoenas were used.

Normally, only judges and prosecutors have the ability to issue subpoenas involving criminal investigations.

"The type of subpoenas used were Division of Parole agency subpoenas which have been issued after July 31, 2005, but unrelated to your story of that day," the agency's statement said.

In 2005, parole officers alleged that dangerous felons who were breaking the rules and committing criminal acts were being released by supervisors who sought to limit the number of parolees being returned to prison.

One case involved a parolee who, despite being suspected of dealing drugs and breaking curfew and driving restrictions, raped and killed the teenage daughter of his former girlfriend in Gloversville.

The murder took place in Gloversville, where the Albany man had been found driving without permission weeks before the incident.

In another incident involving a murder, documents obtained by the Times Union show that top parole officials were warned in 2005 -- in the wake of the Times Union stories -- that two ex-convicts in Albany had remained on parole even after being named as suspects in the unsolved murder of a government witness in Albany eight years ago.

One of those parolees, a convicted drug dealer, has worked as an informant for the Albany Police Department.

He allegedly had identified the victim's location to the shooter and then witnessed the murder, according to internal memorandums at the Division of Parole.

The Times Union is withholding the name of the informant at the request of Albany police.

The second parolee, John VanHosen, who is the suspected shooter but has never been charged, had a slew of documented parole violations in 1998 leading up to the murder.

The alleged violations included: felony assault charges; a suspicion that he was tampering with his electronic monitoring device; curfew violations; failure to keep a job; and an arrest on felony drug charges, according to a copy of a parole memorandum written in late 2005.

The murder took place Jan. 2, 1999, in a now-closed bar on North Swan Street, which at the time was one of Albany's more crime-ridden blocks.

Okema Curtis was playing darts in the bar that night when a masked man walked into the bar, lifted a gun and pulled the trigger at close range, shooting her in the head.

Days later, VanHosen was identified as a suspect in the murder.

Detectives at the time said they believed Curtis was killed to prevent her from testifying at the murder trial of VanHosen's cousin, Jermaine VanHoesen, who was accused of killing Curtis' boyfriend during a South End shootout.

Without Curtis' testimony, Jermaine VanHoesen was later acquitted of murder charges by an Albany County jury.

No one has been arrested in connection with the murder of Okema Curtis.

But looking back, parole officials who re-examined the circumstances of her death acknowledged that mistakes were made.

"The Division of Parole's liability in this case is overwhelming," an internal affairs officer wrote in a memorandum in late 2005, regarding their oversight of John VanHosen in the months leading up to the murder.

"The parole officer of record failed to meet even minimal standards of supervision ..."

"It is with significant luck that our handling of this case was not one of those detailed in the Times Union."

The Times Union's stories -- under the headline "Danger roams the streets" -- were published July 31, 2005.

The stories led to a series of hearings by the state Assembly's Committee on Correction.

The Democratic-led panel, which took no action, investigated allegations that parolees caught breaking the rules were being set free under a secret quota system to prevent too many ex-convicts from being returned to prison.

The Division of Parole assigned one internal affairs officer to investigate the allegations.

About 10 other internal affairs officers, many of them summoned to Albany from around the state, were assigned to track down the newspaper's confidential sources, according to people familiar with the probe.

That internal investigation was unfolding when the personal telephone records of at least one parole officer were subpoenaed, according to a person involved in the investigation who asked not to be identified.

Ultimately, the agency determined there was no proof supporting the assertions by parole officers that there was a secret quota system.

But internal documents did outline serious mishandling of the cases cited by the newspaper, including a finding that parole supervisors had failed to follow procedures and manipulated violation hearings in order to release parolees.

In a memorandum in August 2005, an internal affairs officer recommended "administrative action" or counseling for several officers and supervisors.

However, there was no action taken by parole officials, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

Despite the findings, the internal probe was problematic.

For instance, when internal affairs officers tried to access computer files of certain parolees that had been cited in the Times Union's report, they found that computer files had been "inexplicably erased," according to a Aug. 15, 2005, memorandum drafted by Senior Parole Officer Lois Fairchild, a former internal affairs investigator.

The memo was addressed to Theodore A. Cook III, the former director of the agency's internal affairs unit.

Cook was "separated from state service" on Feb. 25, and the Office of Professional Responsibility has been disbanded, according to state parole officials.

Now, two senior parole officers -- down from about a dozen under the previous administration -- serve as internal affairs investigators and report to the Office of Human Resource Management, officials added.

Fairchild, who authored the internal report, did not respond to a request for comment.

Cook also did not respond to a request for comment left on his home answering machine.

He retired from the State Police in 2002 after a 37-year career that included commendations for his leadership and professionalism.

He was tapped to head the Division of Parole's internal affairs unit during the time when the subpoenas and tracking devices were allegedly used to investigate parole officers.

State Police Col. Anthony G. Ellis II, who was director of the Division of Parole under Pataki until last year, was on vacation last week and unavailable for comment, according to a State Police spokesman.

Ellis testified last year before the state Assembly's committee that there was no quota system in place.

He attributed the allegations to "disgruntled" parole officers but pledged to investigate anyway.

In February, the Times Union filed a Freedom of Information request with the Division of Parole seeking copies of any subpoenas issued by the agency in connection with internal investigations of parole officers.

The newspaper, in its request, suggested that the names of any individual parole officers could be redacted in order to prevent a denial on the basis of privacy provisions.

State parole officials responded on March 23, denying the newspaper's request for redacted copies of the subpoenas:

"The division considers such documents to be personnel records that are confidential ... (and) their disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy."

State officials said the disbanding of their internal affairs unit was part of a reorganization, and they did not elaborate.

The president of the Public Employees Federation, an umbrella union representing state parole officers, described that unit as out of control in its handling of investigations involving parole officers.

The dismantling of the unit "says to us that the agency understood the many problems and abuses within OPR under the prior administration," said Ken Brynien, PEF's president.

Brendan J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

Investigation summary

Highlights of a Times Union report, published July 31, 2005, on four predator parolees and the results of an internal investigation into each case by the state Division of Parole:

Mazene Lacy

Lacy worked as an informant while allegedly committing other crimes and violating terms of his parole from prison for a drug conviction.

In September 2004, Quantica Patterson, a 19-year-old pregnant woman, told police and parole officers she was severely beaten by Lacy and approximately 10 others who broke into her Albany apartment.

Lacy already faced charges for parole violations that included selling cocaine to an undercover police informant.

Parole officers recommended Lacy be arrested and jailed on four parole violation charges, not including the assault.

Two days after the attack on Patterson, who was hospitalized, a parole supervisor rewrote the analysis of a parole officer who wanted Lacy locked up.

"It is recommended that no delinquency action be taken pending court action," the supervisor, John Lowery, wrote in an analysis in which he left blank a line that was supposed to be signed by Lacy's parole officer.

Division of Parole findings:

No evidence appeared showing parole officers obtained approval for Lacy to work as an undercover informant.

A parole supervisor voided an arrest warrant for Lacy in connection with Patterson's beating.

Computer files of violations for Lacy have been inexplicably erased.

Lacy's parole officer "failed to investigate" the gang assault and "lied about the assault when questioned."

A parole supervisor "wrote an analysis and processed (Lacy's) case based on inaccurate or incomplete information."

Jamall K. Sanchez

Sanchez's criminal history began at age 15 when he was arrested on first-degree robbery charges in Albany.

Over the next decade, he was in and out of prison and jail for arrests on charges that included car theft, larceny, criminal possession of a firearm, burglary, robbery, possession of contraband in a prison, criminal trespass, assault and drug possession.

In September 2004, three months after Sanchez was paroled from state prison for a drug conviction, he was arrested for allegedly slashing his uncle across the face with a 12-inch butcher knife.

Sanchez, 30, was later cleared of a parole violation in connection with the assault after a parole supervisor intervened in the hearing process.

In handwritten notes to a co-worker, John Lowrey, a parole chief in the Albany office, ordered a preliminary hearing in the case canceled.

In another note, Lowery instructed a co-worker to notify Albany police who arrested Sanchez that the hearing had been canceled.

Lowery then wrote a notation on a parole officer's report criticizing the decision to issue a parole violation warrant in the case.

"We issued a warrant for an assault without ever interviewing the victim," Lowery wrote.

"Even the arresting officer failed to appear at the preliminary hearing."

"This cannot happen."

Yet, Lowery's notes indicate he notified both the parole officer and Albany police that the hearing was canceled.

In a report documenting his reasons for rescinding the arrest warrant, Lowery wrote, "The division (of parole) presented no evidence or testimony to sustain the violation charges."

Division of Parole findings:

No entries in Sanchez's file support the assertion by parole officials that attempts were made to interview the victim of the assault.

No evidence appears in the case file indicating witnesses or arresting officers were subpoenaed or notified of a parole violation hearing.

The parole supervisor acted as a preliminary hearing officer in the case, which "is not a sound practice from a legal perspective and could lead to sustained conflict of interest arguments."

Robert Pratt

Pratt, an admitted drug addict, drifted in and out of prison and drug programs over several years, logging arrests in New York, Texas and Delaware on charges that included robbery, grand larceny, forgery, drug possession and making a terroristic threat.

He was arrested in early 2004 by Saratoga County sheriff's investigators, accused of stealing, forging and cashing three checks from his employer in late 2003.

He also was charged with robbing a bank in Colonie in January 2004, telling police he was high on crack when he did it.

Pratt was later paroled from state prison on the convictions for robbery and forgery.

He enrolled in a drug-rehab house in Albany, but his drug problems almost immediately resurfaced.

In May 2005, Pratt called home and threatened to kill his family members if they didn't give him $200.

His mother called his parole officer and authorities went to the drug rehab house, where they found two crack pipes in Pratt's pockets.

Parole officers brought Pratt to their office, where they allege he again threatened to kill his family members.

Officers prepared to return Pratt to jail on parole violation charges but were stopped by a supervisor who ordered his release.

The supervisor gave Pratt money for a cab to get to a homeless shelter.

Pratt took the taxi to an M&T Bank in Clifton Park, police said, and handed a note to a teller claiming he had a gun.

The teller gave Pratt $1,000 and he was arrested minutes later.

Anthony G. Ellis II, former executive director of the state Division of Parole, questioned the parole supervisor's decision to release Pratt that day.

"You know, hindsight is 20-20," Ellis said.

But, "This guy is what, 4 (feet) 11 (inches) and crippled?"

"There are questions I have about this case, though, I'm not going to kid you there."

"We're also looking into the manner in which it was done, but not necessarily the overall decision he was supposed to make (to release Pratt)."

Division of Parole findings:

"None of the parole staff in this case disputes the details as reported in the article."

"Area Supervisor Lowery ... stands by his unilateral decision in this case."

Lowery overruled a senior parole officer's decision without holding a conference in the case.

"He also disregarded the validity of Pratt's mother's report of threats without speaking to her ... did not review the police report on the incident ... nor did he speak to (witnesses)."

Orlando Alvarez

Alvarez raped and murdered a 14-year-old girl in Gloversville.

At the time, his criminal history included nearly a dozen convictions for crimes ranging from robbery to drug dealing.

Alvarez attacked the teenager, Shauna Beekman, when she arrived home from school, sexually assaulting her before slashing her throat.

He was captured hours later as he transferred his bloody clothes from one car to another in a parking lot on the outskirts of Albany.

Alvarez, an Albany resident, had been on parole for six months.

The killing occurred less than a month after he was caught driving a car without a license, after his curfew and in an area -- Gloversville -- where he was not allowed to be without permission.

Alvarez had failed to notify his parole officer that he had been fired from a job selling vacuums.

His termination came after workers at the Latham company filed a complaint with Colonie police alleging Alvarez had stolen merchandise.

Before the traffic stop in Gloversville, Alvarez's parole officer was contacted by police in South Glens Falls, Saratoga County, who reported that he had been frequenting their village -- again, without permission -- and selling drugs from a local motel.

Alvarez was never arrested.

A parole officer familiar with the case claimed Alvarez's parole officer ignored the problems because of an informal directive from supervisors that parolees are not to be locked up for selling drugs, doing drugs, domestic disputes or curfew violations.

In August 2004, Alvarez was sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison for murder.

Division of Parole findings:

"The parolee had exhibited no recent propensity for violence and his (Youthful Offender) adjudications for armed robberies were six years prior."

"Alvarez had no convictions or even arrests for sex crimes or assaultive behavior."

"The only indicators of violative behavior were those pertaining to Alvarez's affinity for dealing drugs."

No action initiated by supervisor to deal with parolee's violative behavior.

Sources: NYS Division of Parole; Albany Police Department; NYS court records; law enforcement sources

[Livyjr]

"Ex-VA cancer chief admits role in scandal - Researcher who ran Stratton center program that caused death of a veteran pleads guilty to failing to protect patients"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS Senior writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, April 25, 2007

ALBANY -- An oncologist who headed the cancer research program at Stratton VA Medical Center during a time when veterans were used like guinea pigs pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor federal charge Tuesday, admitting he failed to protect his patients from a rogue researcher who caused at least one patient to die.

Dr. James A. Holland, 49, who has recently worked at a cancer program for a hospital in Georgia, where he now lives, faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.

But under federal sentencing guidelines, Holland could escape any jail time.

He pleaded guilty to one count of wrongfully and unlawfully failing to establish and maintain adequate and accurate cases on patients participating in drug studies.

It's not clear whether the conviction will affect Holland's professional licenses or research credentials.

At least one veteran died and 64 others suffered unduly or were harmed by the forgeries, which involved manipulating their medical backgrounds so they would qualify for drug studies that were lucrative for the hospital and which had furthered the researchers' careers.

The corruption took place over several years and centered largely around the work of Paul H. Kornak, 55, a Stratton research specialist who posed as a doctor even though he never finished medical school.

Kornak was sentenced in November 2005 to six years in prison for his part in the research scandal.

Federal prosecutors did not provide advance notice of Holland's plea proceeding despite the case having generated national attention and congressional action, including a nationwide ramping up of VA hiring practices and mandatory background checks for prospective employees.

While federal authorities claim the research violations took place over about three years, beginning in May 1999, other VA workers have said the cancer program's problems, including the endangering of patients, stretched back years and involved other researchers.

Indeed, Kornak once said he was "used" by Holland, and that others within the hospital knew what was taking place.

Kornak, formerly of Clifton Park, pleaded guilty to one count each of mail fraud and criminally negligent homicide.

He cooperated with investigators and offered to testify before a grand jury.

But it's not clear if prosecutors ever took that step before negotiating their misdemeanor plea bargain with Holland.

Holland and Kornak were fired by the hospital in 2002 after a private drug company investigator noticed problems with the medical records of patients.

Authorities have never offered a clear motive for the forgeries.

At his sentencing nearly two years ago, Kornak laid blame squarely with Holland.

"Every action and decision in this case was ordered and prescribed by the program director (Holland)," Kornak had said.

"It was his decision that all patients should fit into his study; and that without any consequence to those affected."

"I wish to further state that even though I accept all the responsibility, I was used and not even given a full opportunity to express myself to him at that time."

It was not Kornak's first brush with the federal justice system.

In 1992, he pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania to a felony fraud count for forging a medical license application.

Despite his conviction, Stratton's former cancer research director, Dr. William Hrushesky, gave Kornak a job that included processing patients for drug studies.

The federal investigation confirmed only one veteran's death from the scandal, although more deaths were suspected, according to court records filed as part of lawsuits filed by the widows of more than five veterans.

The veteran whose death was proven to be caused by the researchers was James J. DiGeorgio, a 71-year-old Air Force veteran from Brunswick who died at the hospital in June 2001 while being infused with experimental drugs.

Holland, as part of his plea, admitted that he had never reviewed any of DiGeorgio's medical records or checked their accuracy, which is required for the leaders of drug studies.

Stratton officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

They have never placed any blame with Holland, previously saying only that they were victimized by Kornak.

However, under Holland's watch, Kornak openly served in a doctor's role, including treating patients and advising their families about research alternatives.

Several widows of veterans said Kornak was introduced to them as "Dr. Kornak," and that he gave them VA-issued business cards that indicated he had a medical license, which he does not.

A Times Union investigation found that Stratton's cancer research program was the target of internal complaints dating to the mid-1990s.

Hospital staffers said they were harshly retaliated against for warning hospital administrators as early as 1994 that cancer patients were being placed at risk and being enrolled in drug studies without signing consent forms indicating they knew the risks.

Anthony Mariano, Stratton's former pharmacy director, said he and Jeffrey Fudin, another Stratton pharmacist, went to the FBI eight years ago to report allegations of widespread corruption at the embattled hospital.

As early as 1995, they had warned that patients with cancer and other illnesses were being placed at risk -- or had died -- because of the way experimental drugs were being used.

Patients also were enrolled in drug studies without signing consent forms indicating they had been informed about the risk, they said.

Instead of investigating the allegations, hospital administrators allegedly retaliated against the men and ended the pharmacy's role in monitoring research drugs, according to court records.

Mariano said he eventually was forced to leave his job while Fudin was fired, but later had his job reinstated by a federal court.

Both men have said their efforts to get federal authorities and elected leaders to closely examine their situations have been rebuked.

Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"AP NewsBreak: Senate introduces pay raise bill"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:04 p.m., Thursday, April 26, 2007

ALBANY -- Legislation to immediately raise the pay of state judges and eventually hike the salaries of state legislators, the governor and other statewide elected officials has been introduced in the state Senate, where it is has unanimous support.

The measure was introduced without fanfare on Wednesday.

"We expect we will take it up as early as next week," said Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Joseph Bruno, the Senate's Republican majority leader.

The legislation would provide $48.2 million to cover judicial pay raises retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.

The plan would raise the annual salaries of judges on the state Supreme Court, New York's major trial court, to $165,200 from $136,700.

Federal district court judges are paid $165,200 a year.

There would be similar raises for all the state's more than 1,200 judges, who haven't had raises since 1999.

More controversial are provisions that would provide regular cost of living increases for judges, lawmakers and statewide elected officials.

The bill would also create a 13-member commission to come up with other raises that should be given to lawmakers and statewide elected officials.

They have also not had raises since 1999.

New York's 62 senators and 150 Assembly members are each paid $79,500 a year, but many receive extra stipends ranging in value up to $30,000 a year for leadership positions or committee work.

The governor is paid $179,500 a year.

While legislative leaders and new Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer have all said they favor judicial pay raises, Spitzer has thus far refused to agree to any mechanism that would lead to legislative pay raises.

The governor has said he wants to see legislative action on such things as an overhaul of the state's campaign finance laws before he supports more pay for lawmakers.

Spitzer wants to reduce campaign contribution limits.

Spitzer came out with his own judicial pay raise proposal on Thursday, but it applied only to judges.

It would give state judges pay raises retroactive to April 1, 2005.

As with the Senate bill, the Spitzer plan would raise the pay of state Supreme Court justices to $165,200 a year.

The Spitzer proposal came as he unveiled promised state constitutional amendments that would provide for the appointment, by the governor, of most state judges rather than their election.

He also is seeking to merge and streamline parts of the state court system, a plan long advocated by Chief Judge Judith Kaye.

The proposed amendments are subject to approval by the state Legislature and voters statewide.

The merger plan, Spitzer said, would save the state court system about $59 million a year.

The Assembly approved legislation similar to the Senate pay raise proposal earlier this year when it was adopting a new state budget.

Judge Kaye has been demanding action on judicial pay and has threatened to sue the Legislature and Spitzer if they don't act soon.

Kaye spokesman Gary Spencer said the chief judge liked both the Senate bill and the governor's judges-only pay raise proposal.