In a reversal of previous decision, Acting state Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan has recused herself from presiding over Great Neck native Jesse Friedman’s claim he is innocent of a 25-year sex abuse conviction, according to court documents.
“The public deserves the right to believe that the case is being decided without concerns of partiality from the Court,” Corrigan wrote in a court filing on Tuesday. “There is now a potential appearance that the Court’s impartiality could be questioned.”
The court clerk’s office will re-assign the case to another judge, according to court documents.
Friedman, who along with his father Arnold Friedman was arrested and pleaded guilty in 1988 to sexually abusing boys enrolled in a computer class in his family’s Great Neck home, was granted a hearing on his claims of actual innocence in September.
He was released on parole in 2001 and soon retracted on his guilty plea, saying his confession was coerced from law enforcement officials and that police manipulated false abuse claims from the alleged victims.
When he filed last year to have his claim of innocence heard, he included a motion for Corrigan to recuse herself from the case, arguing she is a close friend of former District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who in 2013 had reaffirmed Friedman’s conviction after a three-year review of the case. The review was conducted after a Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2010 indicated that some evidence suggested Friedman might have been wrongfully convicted.
Friedman’s claims of actual innocence were chronicled in the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Capturing the Friedmans,” directed by Andrew Jarecki in 2003.
Rice had agreed to a court hearing on claims made by Friedman before she resigned as district attorney in January after being elected to Congress in November.
She said at the time she believed Friedman’s original guilty conviction should still be upheld.
Corrigan denied to motion to recuse herself in October.
Corrigan wrote in Tuesday’s filing that Joseph Onorato, one of the original prosecutors in the Friedman case, may be called to testify at the upcoming hearing.
Corrigan wrote that while she believes she can fairly evaluate him as a witness, she was also Onorato’s supervisor for a time in the county district attorney’s office.
She also said that the appointment of Robert Schwartz, the lead prosecutor in the case until recently, as a judge about a month ago could cause issues.
Corrigan wrote she could foresee an argument that she may feel compelled to support Schwartz’s positions made as a prosecutor.
Paul Leonard, deputy communications director for acting DA Madeline Singas, said the conviction should stand.
“The DA’s comprehensive reinvestigation of this case, overseen by a distinguished independent panel of experts, found that Jesse Friedman committed the crimes to which he plead guilty and admitted on national television,” Leonard said. “The DA’s office consented to this hearing, and we are confident that Friedman’s conviction will be upheld by any judge.”
Ron Kuby, Friedman’s attorney, said in a statement he is pleased Corrigan has removed herself, and that he hopes the new judge assigned to the case will review the evidence without bias.
“Judge Corrigan realized that the appearance of impartiality is crucial to the integrity of the legal process, especially in a case as important and public as this one,” Kuby said.
Friedman said in a statement he looks forward to his hearing.
“I am eager for my new hearing to start as I am certain a fair review of the evidence will prove my innocence beyond any doubt,” he said.
