Three Brooklyn judges reassigned, attorneys defend their records
Three Brooklyn Supreme Court justices – Hon. Bruce Balter, Hon. Cassandra Mullin and Hon. ShawnDya Simpson – have been transferred to new posts in other boroughs.
A spokesman for the Office of Court Administration told the New York Law Journal that the three judges were sent to new posts for “operational” reasons, but he declined to elaborate further. Some unnamed sources told the Law Journal that the three judges were allegedly falling behind on their caseloads, not holding enough trial days and spending too much time away from the bench. However, members of the Brooklyn legal community defended the judges and were critical of the administration’s focus on quantitative measures to measure their performance.
Barry Elisofon, a semi-retired Brooklyn matrimonial attorney who once sat on the bench, said Balter is “very in touch with human emotion” and renders thoughtful decisions. Kenneth Montgomery, a Brooklyn solo practitioner and former assistant district attorney, told the Law Journal that Simpson believes that “the presumption of innocence still meant something.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.