April 26 2013 Fri BDE.pdf - Brooklyn Daily Eagle

PAGE 20 April 26, 2013Brooklyn Courts Making Strides To Dispose of CasesBy Charisma L. Miller, Esq.Brooklyn Daily EagleBrooklyn has been touted ashaving the busiest courts in NewYork City. The December 2012 reportdistributed by the Office ofCourt Administration further bolstersthis presumption — with morethan 54,000 pending civil cases in2012, Brooklyn’s civil term holdsthe largest caseload in the state.Showing the amount of casesfiled and disposed throughout theUnified Court System from 2008through 2012, the December reportdetails the efforts of Brooklyn’sjudges and personnel as they workto efficiently address caseloads.In criminal court, Brooklyn hasseen the sharpest reduction in itsbacklog. The desired benchmark forthe disposal of felony criminal casesis 180 days. In 2008, Brooklyn hadapproximately 2,221 pending felonycases for over 180 days. That numbersharply fell to 1,660 in 2012.While the overall numbers appearto show positive developments,the amount of cases pendingfor over two years has increased. In2008, there were only 99 casespending. However, that numberincreased each year, culminating in139 in 2012 — a 40-percentincrease.The December 2012 reportnotes that there is a priority for theHon. Neil FiretogHon. Barry Kaminsdisposal of cases over two years,because as a case ages, so does thememory of witness. Also, the likelihoodof evidence being lost or misplacedincreases with time.“We are gratified that we havebeen able to reduce the inventoryof cases over two years by 21 percentand the median age of pendingcases by 5 percent,” notedBarry Kamins, administrativejudge for criminal matters for theSecond Judicial District. “However,there is still much work to bedone. We are hoping to increasethe number of trials, and currentlywe have about 19 of our judges ontrial in felony cases.”The criminal court system withthe most difficult backlog issue isthe Bronx. The Bronx presently hasover 3,000 criminal cases that aremore than 180 days old, and morethan 900 of these cases are morethan two years old.“This acute backlog of felonycases is entirely unacceptable to allof us in the courts and the entire justicecommunity in Bronx County. Itsimply cannot continue any longer,”New York State Chief JudgeJonathan Lippman said.In order to jumpstart the backlogin the Bronx, Lippman enlisted thehelp of noted Brooklyn CriminalCourt Deputy Administrative JudgePatricia Di Mango. She was temporarilyreassigned to the Bronx,along with several judges from districtsoutside of New York City.Brooklyn’s civil courts havealso experienced some success, butthe staggering number of foreclosureshas placed a severe hindranceon case disposition statistics. Of the54,445 civil cases pending inBrooklyn in 2012, 14,647 of themwere foreclosures.Brooklyn Justice LawrenceKnipel, the new administrativejudge for civil matters, told the NewYork Law Journal that he aims tobring “a fresh eye” to the court andto implement systemic reformsrather than “Band-aids.”Viewing his role as “the challengeof my lifetime,” Knipel reportedlynow requires parties toforeclosure settlements to get permissionif settlement conferencesgo beyond four sessions.With a court system as large asNew York’s, New York State ChiefAdministrative Judge A. Gail Prudentitold the New York Law Journal,“There will always be concerns.It’s a work in progress.”Brooklyn Defendants ConvictedIn Murder-for-Hire SchemeKings County District AttorneyCharles J. Hynes on Wednesday announcedthe conviction of RagenePowell-Dickerson and JimmyCopeland for Murder in the FirstDegree, Criminal Possession of aWeapon in the Second Degree andConspiracy in the Second Degree.Both men face life-in-prisonwithout the possibility of parole.Brooklyn Supreme Court JusticeHon. Lawrence KnipelUsed Women To Lure Victim To His DeathNeil Firetog presided over thejury trial.Powell-Dickerson offered to payCopeland $1,000 to kill DwayneBurnett in June 2010, because Burnetthad insulted Powell-Dickerson.Copeland enlisted the help of his sisterCrystal Copeland and her friendEbony Geddie, who began sendingsexually explicit texts and photos toBurnett. They set up a meeting withhim for the next day.On June 13, 2010, they drove tothe agreed-upon location, whereGeddie met the victim. She got himto exit his car, whereupon JimmyCopeland shot him numerous times,killing him.Crystal Copeland and Geddietestified against the two men in exchangefor pleading guilty to Conspiracyin the Second Degree and apromised sentence of 4 to 12 yearsin prison.Feds Name NJ Man in Kidnap-Rape PlotBy Larry NeumeisterAssociated PressAn indictment returned by afederal grand jury Wednesdaynamed a New Jersey man previouslycharged in a cannibalismscheme and two men accused in akidnap-rape plot, though the documentin federal court in Manhattanmade no mention of cannibalism.The rewritten indictment wasreturned against Michael Vanhise,22, a Trenton, N.J., auto mechanic;Robert Christopher Asch, 61; andRichard Meltz, 65.Vanhise was originally arrestedin January and charged with plottingwith former New York PoliceOfficer Gilberto Valle to kidnapand murder a Manhattan woman.Valle, who prosecutors say plottedto eat women, was convicted lastmonth of conspiracy charges andis awaiting sentencing.Asch, a former librarian atStuyvesant High School in lowerManhattan, and Meltz, the chief ofpolice at the Bedford Veterans AdministrationMedical Center inMassachusetts, were arrested lastweek and charged in a plot to kidnap,rape, torture and kill women,children and infants.The rewritten indictmentcharged the three men with kidnappingconspiracy.According to the document,Vanhise and Asch met in thespring of 2011 and “discussed aplan to kidnap women.” The documentsaid Asch later met with anundercover FBI agent to discussplans to kidnap and kill a womanand then discussed the killing of awoman in a telephone conversationwith Meltz.Alice Fontier, a lawyer forVanhise, said the new indictmentis based on information obtainedseveral months ago.“The government has notlearned anything new that wouldindicate that Mr. Vanhise actuallyintended to commit the offenses.He maintains his innocence andwill be proceeding to trial,” shesaid.A lawyer for Meltz, Peter E.Brill, called his client “a devotedhusband, a loving father and a dedicatedpublic servant.”“He never had any plan, intentor desire to see anyone hurt orkilled at any time in real life,” Brillsaid. “For anyone to suggest otherwise,despite his fantasy role-playing,is ludicrous.”A lawyer for Asch did not immediatelyreturn a message seekingcomment.Homeless Man Killed in Coney IslandPolice are searching for suspectsin the murder of a homelessman in Coney Island.Around 1:10 p.m. on Wednesday,police responded to a 911call at 2839 W. 33rd St. about anunconscious man in the firstfloorhallway. When they arrived,police discovered thebody of Julian Salley, 27, with agunshot wound to the torso.They pronounced him dead atthe scene. An investigation iscontinuing.Supreme CourtCalendarKings Co. Criminal Term320 Jay St., BrooklynHon. Dwyerdeliberations, murder∆Curtis BessHon. Garydeliberations, rape∆Rony Delmas, Stephon EdwardsHon. Riviezzoopening, attempted murder∆Kareem Dom MartinHon. Tomeipeople’s case, murder∆Pablo GonzalezHon. Goldbergjury selection, murder∆Antoine JeffreyHon. Sullivandeliberations, tampering with evidence∆Scherson LotinHon. Manganopeople’s case, murder^Cecilo LopezHon. Sullivandeliberations, tampering with evidence∆Scherson LotinHon. Ozzidefense case, criminal possession ofmarijuana∆Matthew KenyattaHon. Donnellypeople’s case, robbery∆Jonathan MenaHon. Dowlingdeliberations, murder∆Michael NewmarkHon. D’Emicpretrial, murder∆Petrua SinghRobbery at Food MarketPolice are seeking a middle-agedman who was wearing a cap and allblackclothing in connection with a robberyat the Caribbean Food Market,1303 Fulton St.The man followed a woman as she wasshopping inside the food market. He thengrabbed her cell phone from her bag andfled the scene. Anyone with information inregard to this incident is asked to callCrime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).LEGAL EVENTSApril 30, Big Lawyers, Small Firms: The Nuts& Bolts of Building Your Practice. 6 to 8 p.m.Presented by Jaime Lathrop and Pery Krinsky.Two MCLE Credits (1 Practice Management, 1Ethics). Sponsored by BBA Young LawyersSection, Investors Bank.Whether you’re joining a small firm or hangingyour own shingle, this course will help new andexperienced attorneys understand how to developa practice and what ethical concernsmust be considered. At BBA headquarters, 123Remsen St.Tuesday, April 30, Consumer Debt andBankruptcy, 6 to 8 p.m.Sponsored by Foundation Law Committee ofBrooklyn Bar Association. All members of thepublic are invited to attend an informational lectureoutlining the process of a typical mortgageforeclosure proceeding, defenses available to thehomeowner, and other options. At Brooklyn BarAssociation headquarters, 123 Remsen St. Reservationsare encouraged.20 20 •• Brooklyn Daily Eagle •• April April 26, 26, 2013 2013