Concerned citizens demonstrate over the Eric Garner special grand jury records in front of Supreme Court in St. George on Monday morning, Jan. 5, 2015. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Staten Island branch and the state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People want the decision on whether to release the Eric Garner grand jury record moved off Staten Island.
The NAACP filed a petition Friday seeking to disqualify state Supreme Court Justice William E. Garnett, who was assigned the case, from ruling on it, and requested it be handled by a justice in one of the other four boroughs.
“We believe that the process should be taken out of Richmond County,” said James I. Meyerson, a lawyer for the New York State Conference of the NAACP. “The perception of integrity and fairness has been compromised, in our view.”
The NAACP, by virtue of its petition, joins the list of four other parties seeking the release of the grand jury record.
Last month, a grand jury declined to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in connection with Garner’s death on July 17 in Tompkinsville. Pantaleo can be seen on video putting his arm around Garner’s neck from behind and taking him to the ground in an attempt to arrest him for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes.
The day after the panel’s decision, Justice Stephen J. Rooney ordered the release of limited details, based on District Attorney Daniel Donovan’s motion to disclose “specific information” regarding the proceedings. Donovan did not request the release of the transcripts.
Afterward, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Legal Aid Society, Public Advocate Letitia James and the New York Post petitioned the court to release more information about the case, including the grand jury transcripts, evidence presented, and instructions given to the grand jury.
Rooney later recused himself, citing a potential conflict of interest because of his wife’s affiliation with Richmond University Medical Center, which employed the emergency medical technicians who responded to the scene.
Donovan opposes the release of the grand jury record.
Doing so, he contends, could potentially subject witnesses in the case to retaliation and would negatively affect witness cooperation in future grand jury proceedings.
Meyerson, the NAACP lawyer, said the group had written Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month, asking him to investigate whether the judicial process had been compromised in this matter.
Simultaneously, the NAACP filed a grievance against Donovan with the state Grievance Committee for the Second, 11th & 13th Judicial Districts.
Meyerson said Donovan should have requested a special prosecutor to investigate Garner’s death and make any grand jury presentation.
Donovan, he said, is an elected official in a borough “disproportionate[ly]” populated by law enforcement personnel and their families. Because he needs their vote on Election Day to remain in office, the district attorney would be reluctant to jeopardize his relationship with cops, contended Meyerson.
The lawyer also said prosecutors work “intricately” with police in their community, and that relationship poses a conflict of interest in a case probing possible police wrongdoing.
“The very integrity of the justice system in Richmond County has been compromised,” said Meyerson.
The NAACP petition asks the governor and the state Grievance Committee to weigh in on the group’s request to unseal the grand jury materials.
Those records are crucial for Cuomo and the Grievance Committee to evaluate the issues raised, said Meyerson.
The NAACP also wants to know whether any of the grand jurors were active or retired cops, relatives or friends of ex-officers, or had relationships with Donovan or his staff.
Meyerson said the court has set a Jan. 27 date to hear the NAACP petition.
Donovan’s spokesman declined comment.