Courts

Benchslapped! Lawyer F*cks Around With Deadlines, Finds Out

The court's schedule is not merely advisory.

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498602Bronx Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Zimmerman has had just about enough of attorneys in his courtroom ignoring deadlines. In a misdemeanor impaired driving case, the judge dismissed the charges against the defendant when the prosecution repeatedly blew past deadlines.

And folks — he’s not happy:

“This case reveals a not-so-well-kept secret of Bronx Criminal Court: lawyers routinely ignore judicially set motion deadlines,” Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Zimmerman said. “To slightly re-order the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, deviancy can be defined downward only so far before there are consequences.

“In this case, that point has been reached: the People’s decision to blow off the Court’s motion schedule must result in the blowing up of their 30.30 clock,” the judge continued, referring to New York’s speedy trial statute.

So what exactly happened? Well, the defense attorney in the case filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the 90-day trial deadline for a misdemeanor punishable with jail had been exceeded. The court ordered the prosecution to respond by March 23. But, um, Assistant District Attorney Christian Commelin didn’t. In fact, they didn’t even ask for additional time to respond until the court emailed and asked about the pending motion. Then, on April 21st, Commelin asked for one extra day but don’t worry — that self-imposed deadline was also blown. The filing was ultimately submitted on April 25th — 23 days after the 90-day speedy trial window.

As reported by New York Law Journal, in granting the motion to dismiss, Judge Zimmerman also benchslapped the entire system for the local practices he says create a culture where attorneys — on both sides of the v — think they can ignore deadlines:

“Sadly, it is not uncommon in the Bronx for lawyers to ignore motion schedules,” the judge wrote. “The court recognizes that our world on East 161st Street sometimes seems insular, and certain local practices—many less than salutary—have become ingrained over time.”

In a footnote, the judge wrote that the assistant DA is “undoubtedly” following what he believes is considered accepted in his office based on the example set by more senior prosecutors. He also saved some choice words in the footnote for the local defense bar.

“Both public defender organizations in the Bronx routinely ignore dates for the filing of omnibus motions and waltz into court on the decision date to blithely request another motion schedule,” the judge fumed.

Zimmerman said that younger attorneys are often reminded that Bronx Criminal Court is “real court”—and that “in ‘real court’ when a lawyer isn’t going to be able to meet a court-imposed deadline, the lawyer asks the court for more time rather than simply filing the papers on his or her newly self-created ‘schedule.’”

In a statement on the matter, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark blew up at the judge for saying there’s a systemic problem with respecting deadlines in Bronx Criminal Court:

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“The consequences whenever the People are unable to meet these deadlines are serious and substantial,” she said. “Our assistants must do a better job of demonstrating their diligence and articulating the detailed circumstances that may constitute good cause for a delay.”

However, Clark added: “It is out of bounds for Judge Jeffrey Zimmerman to blithely speculate that the Assistant in this Office is “undoubtedly following what he believes to be acceptable conduct based on what he has seen more senior lawyers in his office do.

“Statements to this effect by the court ignore the exemplary effort of all Assistants within the Office as a whole and turns a blind eye to how often our senior attorneys set the standard for excellence in the courtroom,” the district attorney added. “While the court can make a sound bite from this one case, it cannot diminish our impact as we continue to restore community trust and promote safety even when it is difficult to meet our burden.”

Obviously Clark is going to be sour that her office is catching some flack for this. But the facts aren’t good — blowing by deadlines without even asking for an extension is bold in the extreme. Maybe Clark really believes it is this one prosecutor that’s gone off the rails, but Judge Zimmerman’s experience seems to indicate otherwise. And that should be a cause for real reflection about what’s happening in your office, rather than just an attempt at deflecting the negative attention.

Read the full opinion below.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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