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On Bronx Supreme Court Justice Naita Semaj’s push for elevation to the Appellate Division, First Department, now we have two phrases: Hell no!
Yet somebody within the Bronx Democratic Party is making an attempt to fast-track her profession.
Though first elected to the Civil Court bench solely in 2019, she obtained tapped for election to a 14-year state Supreme Court time period in November 2021. She was additionally someway chosen final July for switch from the Bronx Supreme Court’s Youth Part to the borough’s “gun courtroom” — a specialised courtroom that solely handles gun circumstances.
As a criminal-court judge, she’s made a number of controversial rulings setting accused killers free again onto Bronx streets, whereas exhibiting robust mistrust of police and surprising disregard for crime vicitms.
- The month earlier than, she enraged cops and Mayor Eric Adams when she dominated that 16-year-old drill rapper Camrin Williams (a ok a C Blu) — accused of taking pictures a cop throughout a tussle — can be tried in Family Court as a result of in her opinion cops had no cause to go looking him within the first place and she or he discovered their testimony not credible. After her ruling, town Law Department determined to drop the case against Williams.
- In February 2022, she cut loose two teen criminals — together with one charged with homicide — over the objections of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
On high of all this, The Post has discovered that Semaj is beneath investigation by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct for tossing a prosecutor out of her courtroom in a listening to involving a 17-year-old gangbanger charged with a taking pictures in a mobile phone retailer.
Semaj allegedly went right into a rage from the bench, claiming the teenager suspect fired pictures in self-defense and ordered the prosecutor by no means to look in entrance of her once more.
Yet she needs to take her antics to the subsequent stage — the Appellate Division.
As Queens ex-prosecutor Jim Quinn advised The Post: “There’s no manner the governor can nominate her as a presiding justice. She would harm all credibility.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul ought to dismiss Judge Semaj’s bid for a promotion with out hesitation, if the judicial screening panel doesn’t achieve this first.
Sadly, Semaj is precisely the type of pro-defendant, anti-law-enforcment jurist that progressives need on each bench within the state.
The way forward for public security in New York actually hangs within the steadiness.
