[TheForge] WAY WAY OT - Police Misconduct in NJ Court

[Bruce Freeman]

The article below is from today's Asbury Park Press (NJ) on-line.  In brief,
a trial was on recess and the cops involved as witnesses had lunch with
another witness -- against court rules.

This burns me up.  We're supposed to respect the police, then they turn
around and break a rule as straightforward as DON'T TALK TO THE OTHER
WITNESSES DURING THE TRIAL!!!  And then they say it will never happen
again.  If any of you believe that, I can offer you great deals on a number
of NYC-area bridges.  Hell, I'll throw in a Delaware River bridge as a
sweetener!

Note that this police misconduct resulted in a mistrial, not dropping the
charges.  If I were defense attorneys in the retrial, I'd try to get the
fact of the misconduct in the first trial introduced as evidence that THESE
COPS ARE TOO STUPID TO FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS, so why should their
testimony be believed at all!  Cops in NJ have to attend an academy (I
understand).  Can't a simple concept like not undermining an on-going trial
be conveyed to these morons!?  They should be drummed out.  Or transferred
to Public Works and be made to pick up garbage.  Something their mentalities
can handle!  More reasonably,  they should be held in contempt by the court
and forced to pay all court expenses -- for the state and the defendant!
And maybe thrown in jail for a day or two for good measure.

Years ago, I was on the jury of a trial in California.  A masseuse was
entrapped into performing a hand job on a cop.  (There was no other way to
interpret the testimony.  She was a young working woman, trying to support a
family, and this cop wanted to arrest her, so he paid for a massage and
talked her into giving him a hand job.  The minute she consented, the other
cops burst in.  The poor woman's first concern at that moment was for her
client -- When he told her he was a cop, she thought HE was in trouble and
tried to cover his nakedness!  That came out in testimony -- I'm not making
this up.)  So, at a recess, I'm sitting there in the hall reading a book and
I start to overhear a conversation.  Before any more could register, I hear
someone say something to the effect that "this is inappropriate conduct."
Two cops were talking to another witness, against the explicit instructions
from the judge prior to recess, and the defense attorneys had caught them at
it.  The cops ignored them and the defense attorneys went in to the judge.
Shortly afterwards, the jury was called back and dismissed.  The judge was
obviously pissed off at the witnesses!

So this current affair is not by any means an isolated event.  I wouldn't be
surprised if it happens more often than not.  In fact, if any of you are in
the unfortunate position of being charged with a crime, I suggest you get
friends to keep tabs on the witnesses during the recesses.
======================================================

Keyport official cries foul after cops' meal sparks drug mistrial

By JIM McCONVILLE • STAFF WRITER • October 26, 2010
The table of six at Federici's restaurant in Freehold munched on three large
pizzas with toppings on a midweek afternoon in July. The bill came to almost
$70, and Joseph Merla of Keyport picked up the tab.
But the real cost of the meal was much higher — a mistrial in a drug case.
That's because the six, including two Keyport police officers and Merla,
were all witnesses in the case that day and were on a lunch break from the
trial.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office determined that there was no
wrongdoing on the part of the Keyport police officers, Sgt. Mark Hafner and
Lt. Anthony Gallo, according to acting Keyport Police Chief George
Casaletto.
Casaletto said the Police Department has held meetings since the trial and
reminded officers that they are not allowed to talk to or consort with other
witnesses at trials.
"Believe me, it won't happen again — not while I'm here," Casaletto said.
But Councilwoman Christian Bolte said the Police Department had an
obligation to inform the Borough Council [*sic. *should this be the borough
council or the "borough counsel" -- i.e., the city attorney?  I don't see
how the city govt. would be involved at the time of the trial.  Maybe
afterwards, to see that heads roll....] about the officers' involvement in
the episode.
Instead, she said, she found out from defendant Alexander Ciccolello, who
sent a packet to her and other state and county officials. The Asbury Park
Press also received a packet that included a transcript of the July 21 court
hearing.
Superior Court Judge Richard W. English, sitting in Freehold, ruled a
mistrial on July 21 in the case against Ciccolello, who was being tried on
several charges, including drug possession and trafficking.
Court rules prohibit witnesses in a case to talk with other witnesses in the
same case during the trial under what is called sequestration.
"The Monmouth County Prosector's Office is aware of what happened, and my
(police) department was made aware immediately by myself and Sgt. Hafner
that same day," Gallo said recently. "There was no criminal wrongdoing on my
part, or Sgt. Hafner's part, by no means. Nothing was discussed at that
lunch that had anything to do with the case."
But Bolte said the failure to notify the council [*sic. *Again, should this
be "counsel"?] about the officers' involvement in the mistrial has created
concerns about the department's credibility, and served to widen the
communications gap and further chill relations between the two municipal
bodies.
-- 
Bruce
NJ