FALSE CONFESSIONS- THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE

Lets try this again. We wrote yesterday that April 15 was the tenth anniversary of the death of Gemma Cosentino, a much respected and beloved REGJB attorney who spent most of her career at the Dade Public Defender's Office. Perhaps it was because her portion of the post was at the end of a lengthy post, or perhaps it was because the tragic events in Boston overtook the public discourse. 

But Gemma was a wonderful lawyer and an even better person and we just cannot believe that no one saw fit to write anything about her.   So we continue the discussion today. 

Kathleen Smith Zorn said...
Tomorrow (April 15, 2013) will be ten years, to the day, since Gemma Cosentino passed away. She was one of those rare of people in the criminal justice building in the 1980's who could disagree without being disagreeable (post Vietnam era -- passions ran high and tempers flared hot), and who was equally well liked by men and women.

Here is our first post on Gemma. 

THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE

In Manhattan in 1989 a young woman was brutally assaulted in Central Park. Five young black men were identified as suspects. As  a City demanded arrests and "justice",  the case received world wide attention. The five young men confessed, and were tried and convicted. The public could rest. Justice was done. 

Except the five were innocent. 

It is almost unimaginable to conceive the size of the deck stacked against these five young men. As film-maker Ken Burns recently observed,  at the time of their arrest "they had no voice." And no attorney qualified to speak up for them. 

Burn's documentary debuts on PBS today at Nine PM. 

Every judge who sits in criminal court and every prosecutor should be required to watch this film? 

"Nobody confesses to a crime they did not commit."

Really? 

Watch this film and then we'll discuss the phenomenon of false confessions with you. 

Until then, see you in court. 

JUSTICE DELAYED

The NY Times started a multi-article examination of the broken criminal justice system in The Bronx, New York here.  Former ASA and current Bronx ADA Josh Gradinger makes an appearance winning a murder trial, but with the reporter noting his pants cuffs were frayed. 

The stats are pretty bad: The Bronx has almost a thousand felony cases approaching over two years old, as compared to Manhattan which has less then 200. 

One interesting part of the article is the reporting on the relatively short work day. Court is supposed to start at 9:30 but doesn't really get going until ten and it's usually 11 before all parties are present. Lunch is supposed to be an hour but usually approaches two, and court starts again at 2 until about 3:30, although court is supposed to stay open until 4:30. 

For some reason this sentence caught our eye: 
Some judges wander into their crowded courtrooms at 10:15 or later without excuse or apology.

It must be something in the dye of the robes that leaks into the blood stream and causes changes. 

It was also interesting to note that apparently by long tradition, jury trials are held only three days a week. 

Things appear to be different in the Bronx:

During an attempted-murder trial that slogged through nine weeks last summer, Judge Denis J. Boyle would take the bench in his mostly empty courtroom at 9:30, only to stare into space, expressionless, sometimes for two hours, waiting for the lawyers or the jurors. The lead prosecutor in that case took a vacation in the middle of the trial, which some lawyers called unheard-of.

We have our problems in Miami, but we cannot imagine any judge tolerating that level of disrespect from lawyers and jurors. 

We do indeed live in paradise. 

GEMMA COSENTINO

We received this comment on Sunday:

Kathleen Smith Zorn said...
Tomorrow (April 15, 2013) will be ten years, to the day, since Gemma Cosentino passed away. She was one of those rare of people in the criminal justice building in the 1980's who could disagree without being disagreeable (post Vietnam era -- passions ran high and tempers flared hot), and who was equally well liked by men and women.

We want to add this: You could be entranced by Gemma, because with her jet black hair and striking features, she was beautiful. But if that was all you saw, you missed so much. She was smart, and caring, and dedicated and had a wonderful sense of humor. She was taken from us and her family much too soon. We did a post about her five years ago, courtesy of the Captain- here it is. 

If there is one singular thing we are proud of this blog for, it is in remembering those who came before us. 

See you in court. 

GEMMA COSENTINO

CAPTAIN said...

I noticed today that it has been exactly 5 years since the death of Gemma Cosentino. Amazing how time flies.For those of you that did not know her, she was a fantastic attorney and, more importantly, she was an incredibly warm and caring person who brightened every room she walked into. She died at the young age of 48.She will continue to be sorely missed.

Cap Out ....

Rumpole remembers Gemma as a wonderful public defender. A beautiful person inside and out. What a tragedy her death was.