The Trial Judge in the Vetrano-Lewis case is skewered again for his lockstep approach in favor of cops and prosecutors

You've got to hand it to Theodore Hamm  ---  he has painted "jurist" Michael Aloise with a well-deserved basting of tar for his one-sided, pro-cop, pro-prosecution rulings  ---  even suggesting that the judge's quick grant of a mistrial in the Vetrano murder case was a move meant to benefit the prosecution  ---  and allowing them to start all over again in their attempt to railroad the defendant Chanel Lewis

I have been waiting for this article for a couple of weeks now  ---  as the one and true Galewyn Massey,  formerly the real and true editor of "The Banner" of "Fountainhead" fame,  Gale Wynand, played in the King Vidor movie of the same name by Raymond Massey (and yes, in both of those parallel threads,  I am well over a hundred years old  ---  however in my current state, I only feel over a hundred years old),  I must say that my blog and I really kvell up a storm when other reputable sources confirm much of what is being said by me here on this blog

Mr. Hamm, has been a full-time author and part-time journalist, and was the founder of the cultural and literary "tabloid"  ---   "The Brooklyn Rail."  Out west, he had a background investigating various cases in the criminal justice system out there; and now he's a college professor in Brooklyn,  who occasionally does watchdog public interest articles  ---  just like this one exposing Justice Michael Aloise as the Queens County Supreme Court's currently-reigning super- pro-DA hack.

Most interestingly,  Mr. Hamm pointed out that Judge Aloise,  who has a long history of being overturned by the defense bar,  has multiple relatives working as ADA's in the Queens DA's Office;  at this time, a daughter and a son-in-law.  (Note, a similar pattern can be found among several other judges hearing criminal cases in Brooklyn and Queens  ---  it is just one of the very large chunks of corruption in those courts that the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) just can't seem to come to grips with).  The OCA's spokesperson's lame defensive comments about Judge Aloise's problematic record clearly indicates that a follow-up article about the cover-ups of many of the many state court judges' more detestable foibles by the OCA is long overdue ( See "Judge in Jogger Murder Trial has a History of Having Rulings Overturned"  by Theodore Hamm,  1/18/19,  CityLimits.org   [https://citylimits.org/2019/01/18/judge-in-jogger-murder-trial-has-a-history-of-having-rulings-overturned/]).

Here are some of the things that Mr. Hamm wrote about the Vetrano murder case in this article for the award-winning NYC watch-dog organ, "CityLimits.com":

"Throughout the recent high-profile trial of Chanel Lewis for the murder of Howard Beach jogger Karina Vetrano, Judge Michael Aloise sparked controversy....   In addition to repeatedly ruling in the prosecution’s favor, Aloise frequently sported a purple tie, a statement of solidarity with the Vetrano family. Many seasoned criminal defense attorneys were surprised when after only one full day of jury deliberations, Aloise—instead of issuing what’s known as an Allen charge (which asks jurors to continue trying to reach a verdict)—quickly declared a mistrial....  Queens prosecutors immediately declared their intention to seek a retrial, and the next court date is January 22. Despite his questionable handling of the first trial, Justice Aloise continues to preside over the case...."

BUT HERE IS THE KICKER IN HAMM'S ARTICLE  ---  JUSTICE MICHAEL ALOISE HAS THE WORST RECORD ON APPEAL OF THE THREE WORST PRO-PROSECUTION SUPREME COURT JUDGES IN QUEENS

"A City Limits investigation has found that questions raised about Aloise’s impartiality are not new. Indeed, since Aloise became a Queens Supreme Court-Criminal judge in 2004, Aloise has had at least 42 cases reversed or modified by the appellate division, with a handful reaching the full New York State Court of Appeals....   By contrast, Aloise’s Queens counterpart Justice Gregory Lasak (now running for Queens County DA), who was elected at the same time as Aloise, has had 17 reversals or modifications, including one last week. Lasak made important initial rulings in the Vetrano case before retiring last summer in order to run for Queens DA. His cases were then passed over to Aloise. Kenneth Holder, another Queens judge who handles high-profile felony trials, has seen 24 of his cases altered by the appellate division since he joined Aloise and Lasak in 2008...."

As a result, this blog agrees with Mr. Hamm and the folks at "CityLimits.com" that  ---  as the Queens DA’s office prepares to retry Lewis  ---  Judge Aloise’s track record should come in for increased scrutiny,  both by the press and by state and federal investigators.  I also agree that the facts revealed in Mr. Hamm's article for "CityLimits.com" raise questions about whether there is sufficient oversight and accountability of heavy handed pro-prosecution judges like Michael Aloise in New York State.

DEFENSIVE STATEMENTS BY THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION (OCA) DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO CAPABLE OF CLEANING THEIR OWN HOUSE 

With respect to that issue, Theodore Hamm and "CityLimits.com" reported this:

"....   Asked to explain whether there is sufficient accountability for judges, Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen told City Limits via email that Aloise 'has been elected once [to Civil Court] and reelected twice more [to Supreme Court] by the citizens of Queens County.' Chalfen added that Aloise has been 'an active felony trial jurist for more than fifteen years, [and] cases are appealed and sometimes reversed.'...   Elections for judges, of course, are a stronghold of the party machines. When Aloise and Lasak ran for reelection in 2017, they were two of the six candidates running on the Democratic line  ---  and the full party slate won all six judgeship positions. Given the mandatory retirement age of 70 for New York State Supreme Court judges, Aloise would not be eligible to run again in 2031....   Aside from elections, Chalfen says, 'oversight in New York State for elected or appointed judges comes from either the State Commission on Judicial Conduct or the appellate process.' There’s no record of an Aloise investigation by that commission, however...."

According to the article by Ted Hamm, many professional court-watchers are not happy about any of this  ---  "....   'We are a long way from where we need to be in terms of judicial oversight,” says Brooklyn Law School professor Jocelyn Simonson. But both she and Brooklyn College professor Alex Vitale, author of the End of Policing, say the work of CourtWatch NYC and the Police Reform Organizing Project are an important step in that direction....   'CourtWatch and PROP are keeping track of bail requests in criminal court and the degree to which judges are acting independently of prosecutors,' says Vitale. 'We need independent eyes monitoring every stage of the process, from arraignment to pleas, trials and sentencing.'...”

THE "CAPTAIN OBVIOUS" CLOSING TO TED HAMM'S PIECE ALSO HAS A BIT OF AN OMINOUS RING TO IT

"...   In the meantime, if Lewis again stands trial for the Vetrano murder, Aloise’s actions will once again take center stage."

But nobody can gainsay that in anyway (except for something like the sort of snarky "Captain Obvious" jibe).....  

Or maybe Mr. Hamm is actually telling everybody that he'll be watching Judge Aloise like a hawk this time around.

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