Prison Terms Could Begin Today in Judicial Probe

The matrimonial court judge and the Democratic Party boss at the center of District Attorney Charles Hynes's investigation into the Brooklyn judiciary could begin their prison sentences as early as today.

Mr. Hynes's investigation into allegations that Democratic leaders bought and sold judgeships in the borough has focused on the political party's former leader in Brooklyn, Clarence Norman Jr., whom Mr. Hynes's office has tried three times over the last three years. Evidence at his most recent trial disclosed a connection between money and judicial races by showing how Norman conditioned his endorsement of a judicial candidate on her agreement to spend campaign money with political consultants of his choosing.

Today Norman, who also served in the state Assembly for 23 years, is set to appear before a state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, Martin Marcus, who will decide whether Norman will begin serving a three- to nine-year sentence or stay free pending an appeal of his latest conviction on extortion.

A spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office declined to discuss the status of Mr. Hynes's investigation into the judiciary, which is now more than four years old.

Legal observers say that at this point, the power Democratic Party leaders in Brooklyn wield in selecting judges is more likely to be broken by the U.S. Supreme Court than it is by Mr. Hynes. The federal high court is scheduled to hear a case this fall alleging that Norman exercised so much power over the selection of judges that it violated the constitutional rights of voters and losing candidates. The court could order that state judicial candidates be nominated through primary elections instead of party-controlled political conventions.

Many members of the bar have welcomed Mr. Hynes's investigation and described its accomplishments to date as significant.

"Even though Mr. Hynes hasn't been able to specifically show that a particular judge paid a particular amount of money" for a spot on the bench, he has "sensitized the entire legal community and the public to the issue" of judicial selection, the president of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Barry Kamins, told The New York Sun.

"It's only had a positive effect," Mr. Kamins said. "The public's confidence in the judiciary has been improved," he added.

Also scheduled to appear in court today is a matrimonial judge, Gerald Garson, who is set to be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes of cash and cigars from a lawyer whose cases he handled. Garson is expected to request to remain free on bail as he appeals the jury's verdict.

The charges Garson was convicted of earlier this year do not relate to the process by which judges are selected. But Mr. Hynes's larger inquiry stemmed in part from discussions between his office and Garson after the then-judge was confronted with the bribery evidence against him.