Associated Press
New York -- New York police unions are demanding the resignation of a Queens judge who helped a suspect out of the courthouse by the back door before he could be arrested by police. The wanted man went before Judge Laura Blackburne on drug charges. But a detective was waiting to arrest him for a violent robbery. Because the policeman did not have a warrant, the judge told the suspect to go back to a halfway house and had a court officer show him out a rear exit.
New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly calls this “outrageous conduct” and “beyond the pale for a sitting jurist.” He wants the judge to be punished.
Judge Blackburne says she was just trying to prevent an immediate arrest based on a misrepresentation by the detective.
The suspect was arrested about 12 hours later. Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.