A
sigh isn't just a sigh in
the courtroom of Nassau
County Family Court Judge
Richard Lawrence. There,
a sigh could lead to a few
nights in jail. But on Tuesday
the state Commission on
Judicial Conduct ruled Lawrence
should be admonished for
ordering a man locked up
for contempt without first
warning him he could be
sent to jail or allowing
him to say anything in his
defense.
In November
2002, Mark Schulman was
appearing before Lawrence
on domestic violence charges
lodged by his wife, Eva
Schulman, and over an
order by another judge
giving the two joint custody
of their two children.
During
the proceeding, Schulman
loudly sighed, fidgeted
and on several occasions
turned his back to the
judge to retrieve personal
belongings on a chair
behind him.
The judge
believed Schulman's conduct
to be disrespectful, and
in one instance, Lawrence
"gazed at him silently
but intently," according
to the commission's ruling.
Court officers had also
warned Schulman to be
respectful several times.
When
Schulman sighed again
and shook his head, Lawrence
ruled him in contempt
and sentenced him to five
days in jail.
Schulman
objected, but Lawrence
cut him off and raised
the sentence to 10 days.
Schulman again tried to
say something, but the
judge upped the jail time
to 12 days. Schulman was
then handcuffed and arrested.
Instead of going to jail,
he spent one night in
secure custody at the
Nassau University Medical
Center.
Commission
spokesman Robert Tembeckjian
said Schulman was taken
to the hospital after
complaining about chest
pains.
The commission
said Lawrence violated
state judicial conduct
rules by failing to give
Schulman the proper warning
about his conduct or the
chance to change his behavior.
Lawrence
now admits his actions
were wrong and would "consider
other alternatives"
to resolve the situation,
the commission said.
"Respondent's
failure to adhere to mandated
contempt procedures —
which he clearly knew
about but disregarded
— constitutes misconduct
warranting public discipline,"
the commission said. Repeatedly
raising the sentence "was
a gross abuse of discretion
and a substantial overreaction
to their efforts to protest
his ruling."
Lawrence's
attorney, Robert Miletsky,
said that while his client
respected the commission's
determination, he was
disappointed by the admonishment
ruling.
A private
letter of caution, as
suggested by three of
the commission's members,
would have sufficed as
punishment, Miletsky said.
_____
On the
Net:
Commission
on Judicial Conduct: http://www.scjc.state.ny.us
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