William E. Garnett
Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!
William E. Garnett is an acting justice of the Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term, in the 2nd Judicial District of New York. He was appointed to this position in 2002. He has also served on the New York City Criminal Court since 1991.[1][2]
Education
Garnett received his B.A. degree from Fordham University in 1973, his J.D. degree from the Brooklyn School of Law in 1976, and his L.L.M. degree from the New York University School of Law in 1988.[1]
Career
Garnett began his career in 1976 as an assistant district attorney in Kings County. He moved to the Richmond County District Attorney's Office in 1982, where he served until 1991. He was then appointed to the New York City Criminal Courts. In 2002, he was appointed an acting supreme court justice assigned to the New York City Criminal Court.[1]
Noteworthy cases
Public release of the Eric Garner grand jury record
Groups such as the New York American Civil Liberties Union, the Legal Aid Society and the New York Post petitioned the Kings County Supreme Court to publicly release additional information from the Eric Garner case, such as the grand jury transcripts. Eric Garner was killed in July 2014 after a police officer held him in a chokehold during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes.
Garnett was assigned the case after Justice Stephen J. Rooney recused himself due to a potential conflict of interest. Garnett presided over a brief hearing on Monday, January 5, 2015, and heard arguments from lawyers from both sides on January 29, 2015.[3][4][5]
On March 19, Garnett denied the requests to release the transcripts, saying the petitioners did not give a "compelling and particularized need" to make them public.[6]
| “ | If every newsworthy case were deemed compelling and, thus justified disclosure, the veil of grand jury secrecy would be lifted and every citizen’s right to have fellow citizens, sitting on a grand jury, check the power of the police and the prosecutor without pressure from outside influences -- real or perceived -- would be imperiled.[7] | ” |
| —Judge Garnett[6] | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 New York Courts, "Official biography of the Hon. William E. Garnett," accessed January 6, 2015
- ↑ New York Law Journal, "Judge Profile: William E. Garnett," accessed January 6, 2015
- ↑ Yahoo News, "Judge to weigh releasing grand jury record in NYC chokehold death," January 5, 2015
- ↑ Silive, "Court proceeding on Monday on requests to release Eric Garner grand-jury record," January 5, 2015
- ↑ Silive, "Justice William E. Garnett assigned to rule on release of Eric Garner grand-jury records," December 19, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 NBC New York, "Judge Refuses to Release Grand Jury Documents in Eric Garner Chokehold Death," March 19, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
