Judge Is Charged in Suspect’s Escape
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A Queens judge who was heavily criticized for helping a robbery suspect avoid arrest in her courthouse has been charged with violating judicial procedures, the head of the city’s police union said yesterday.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Laura Blackburne was charged after an investigation by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, said the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Pat Lynch. “It is our hope, that when the hearings [on the charges] are held, Blackburne will be denied the privilege of a seat on any bench in New York City so that her actions will no longer tarnish the reputation of the vast majority of judges who are honest and ethical,” Mr. Lynch said in a statement.
The chairman of the commission, Lawrence Goldman, declined to comment on whether Judge Blackburne was facing charges, citing confidentiality laws.