Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Will Judge Raymond Bigelow Face Investigation?

The US Department of Justice has shown a real determination to challenge New Orleans police violence and corruption. Their report on the NOPD, released in March, confirmed what community members had been saying about the department for decades. In addition, their investigations led to convictions of officers involved in the murders of Henry Glover and Raymond Robair. This month, thanks to federal investigators and the tireless efforts of organizers and family members of the victims of police violence, the officers involved in the shootings and cover-up on Danziger Bridge are expected to finally face trial.

Now that more than a dozen NOPD officers have been charged in the killings in the aftermath of Katrina, and the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating other incidents - including the shooting death of Adolph Grimes III on January 1, 2009 - observers wonder how far federal investigators are willing to go. The DOJ has looked into charges against Orleans Parish Prison – will they look at other actors in this systemic problem?

One person involved in Danziger so far has remained above the law, but this is an opportunity to change that. Will Judge Raymond Bigelow finally face investigations over his actions and blatant conflict of interest?

A little background: Bigelow began his career as a prosecutor in 1983 under DA Harry Connick and eventually became his first assistant. Bigelow campaigned for a judgeship as an advocate for “victim’s rights,” and once elected, in 1993, he earned a reputation as a judge who always sided with the police. But it was during the Danziger Bridge case, when Bigelow refused to recuse himself despite numerous blatant conflicts of interest, that the judge may have finally overreached, and shown himself to be definitively unreliable as a neutral mediator. Bigelow subsequently used a technicality to dismiss the state charges against the Danziger cops, who now face federal charges.

To many observers, it seemed from the beginning that the fix was in on the Danziger case. "I didn't expect (Bigelow) to give a fair ruling today," Dr. Rommell Madison said at the time of Bigelow’s ruling. Dr. Madison is brother of Ronald Madison, one of those who was gunned down on Danziger Bridge by NOPD officers as he was trying to flee the floodwaters of Katrina on September 4, 2005. "I didn't expect him to have any forethought to say 'this is why, this is what's happening.' It was already predecided,” added Dr. Madison.

Bigelow never seemed to show compassion for defendants in his courtroom – unless those defendants were officers, or the bouncers at Razzoo’s nightclub who killed Georgia college student Levon Jones on Bourbon Street New Years Eve 2004. Columnist Clifford Bryan has noted that during the Danziger trial, as well as during the Razzoos trial, Bigelow “seemed more like a defense attorney (for the police) than an unbiased judge.”

Among the questionable connections noted at the time of the Danziger trial: Police Association of New Orleans legal representative Frank Desalvo, who also represents Danziger defendant Kenneth Bowen, is the father of one of Judge Raymond Bigelow’s minute clerks. Another of Bigelow’s clerks is Claire Livaccari, the wife of Sgt. Donovan Livaccari, employee representative and spokesperson for the Crescent City Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. Bigelow also sat on a criminal justice act panel with Dylan Utley, lawyer for Danziger defendant Michael Lohman, as well as Desalvo. Finally, among the Judge’s other compromised affiliations is the fact that he is a member of the St Pius X Church men’s club with DA Leon Cannizzaro.

“This is a perfect example of a double standard that breaks down along race lines,” notes Rosana Cruz, the associate director of VOTE, an organization that seeks to build power and civic engagement for formerly incarcerated people. “There are so many cases where Black elected officials’ relationships with other public figures are scrutinized, but Bigelow has gotten off entirely free.”

The city’s Metropolitan Crime Commission (MCC) praised Bigelow for moving his docket quickly. MCC president Rafael Goyeneche said at the time of his retirement that Bigelow was one of the most effective jurists on the court. However, they didn’t seem to be interested in the substance of his judgments, and the clear bias he showed. Pam Metzger, associate professor of law at Tulane University Law School, has noted, "The US Constitution says process matters more than speed, so I think it would be a very serious error in a state that has so many wrongful convictions for us to simply evaluate these judges based on their case processing speed." Metzger added that we should evaluate judges “based on their compassion, legal insight and reputation for fairness, honor and integrity."

Cruz also notes that her former organization, Safe Streets Strong Communities, sued to get access to Bigelow’s records on how he used his judicial expense fund. Judges have wide discretion on how they spend from the fund, which comes from fines and fees paid by defendants. Safe Streets won in court, but Bigelow never released the records, despite a court order. “I think that he's just a textbook example of the kind of behind-the-scenes public corruption that people aren't willing to put a spotlight on,” says Cruz. Safe Streets also was the organization that led the fight to reform the city’s notoriously corrupt and ineffective pre-Katrina public defender system. The leadership of the former indigent-defense board were close associates of Bigelow.

After fifteen years as a judge, Bigelow quietly retired at the end of 2008 – not long after he dismissed the charges against the cops involved in the Danziger Bridge incident. Although his career as a judge has ended, the aftermath of his biased work as a judge continues to affect the lives of those he may have unfairly sent to prison, as well as the police he protected.

7 comments:

Nola Anarcha said...

no matter what officials are replaced, the people who replace them will become just as corrupted and abusive.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It's as true for the most committed anti-authoritarian as it is for the fascist. Anyone who gets into power becomes corrupted.

But it is good to know the details of the ways people become abusive and corrupted, so thanks for writing this!

We just wrote something about this topic, too:
http://nolaanarcha.blogspot.com/2011/06/serpas-petition-meet-new-chief-same-as.html

Anonymous said...

The Lake Vista Mafia!

dee said...

My husband was sentence to a 99 year sentence plus a additional 20 year sentence by Judge bigelow, who when he first sentence him, gave him a 2 1/2 years for attempt arm robbery but than came back and gave him a 99 year sentence plus 20 because he had already been in trouble twice before, both times he had to be a juvenile, he was only 19 when he received the sentence, i think the judge usurp his authority and that this was very cruel and unusual punishment, he also said my husband needed to be rehabilated that he was a menance to society, my husband has first of all become a man of God, he has gotten his high school diploma, he receive a degree of carpentry from LA technical college, he has been through substance abuse classes, anger management, and several others, he has taken up CPR, he was a class a trustee at Lousiana state prison, and he is now inmate counsel at hunts correctional center, yet the courts of LA will not give him and the many more who has been change and rehabilated a chance to come home, Judge bigelow is responsible for a lot of these men being incarcerated for decades when they should now be home with their families, but God sit high and looks low, He is the One and Only Righteous Judge and one day, bigelow and the many other self righteous, unmerciful judges will stand before His throne and He will measure them in the same way they did others, than and only than, will they understand that what goes around comes around, judge bigelow told my husband that he would show him mercy, this was his ideal of mocking Gods mercy and one day he willbe sorry,God does not sleep

dee said...

there is only one Righteous Judge and He does not sleep nor slumber, I do not understand but than i do how judge bigelow could dismiss this charge against these men whom the evidence was very overwhelming than you had the victims who were also witnesses testify of what had happen and also the family members who represented those who were murdered and yet you sentence my husband from being someone who was charge with attempted arm robbery and because he had gotten in trouble as a juvenile twice before, and now being 19 to first 2 1/2 years but after you seen he had been charged as a juvenile on one occassion and i believe 17 on another occasion to 99 years plus 20 and that was your ideal of mercy, yet people lives was lost, things were covered up, there were lies told, and victims appeared who had been shot and survived, but you dismiss all charges, but than you did this because you were able to, and in my husband situation, u usurp authority, than you called it mercy, well i pray God has mercy true mercy on your soul when you go before Him and one day you will

Anonymous said...

My son has been in prison since 2003 on an attempted Armed Robbery charge. Although I know it is not right to take possession of someone else's possession with a weapon is not right to take people lives away by acting as if you are God. It is 2018 and my son will never see life on the streets again. Judge Bigalow sentenced him to 203 years with no chance of parole. This was senseless!!! A young man age 19 with 2 kids. He also mocked GOD and told my son that he was a menace to society. I personally feel that no one should be above the law. Judge Bigalow took his power to the next level and it is sad that because my son is and was a poor black man in New Orleans, he never stood a chance. I p
ray mercy on his soul the day he stands before God!!! Something should be done to overturn some of his senseless work or do we atill live in an era where the color of our skin dictates our destiny

Darryl Robinson, a victim of Judge Bigelow's corruption said...

In 1995 I got my first taste of a corrupted judge. Raymond Bigelow that is. This judge never gave me an Arraignment Hearing. Instead, on the date of the Arraignment, Bigelow sent an indigent defense lawyer into the holding tank where the accused are held and asked me would I take a 10 year sentence for Aggravated Battery. I declined.

To this day there is still no documents that report my Arraignment Hearing.
Then, there is my Preliminary Hearing that took place on May 19, 1995. Although the victim was at the Preliminary Hearing my paid counsel was not allowed to call the victim to the stand for cross examination nor did the State called the victim to the witness stand. To this day, I have my Preliminary Hearing transcripts and no the victim did not testify.

At the conclusion of the hearing, my attorney and Judge Bigelow engaged in some "corrupt" conversation:

BY THE DEFENSE: I have nothing further at this time, your honor. I'll wait for
discovery.

BY THE STATE: I have no further questions.

BY THE COURT: You may step down, officer. I deny the motion.

BY THE DEFENSE: Please take note that I will take appeal.

(Whereupon the witness was dismissed.)

I received a copy of my Preliminary Hearing Transcripts. Nowhere in the transcripts it states the Court found Probable Cause to charge Mr. Robinson with (now) Attempted Second Degree Murder. But, when I received a copy of my Supervisory Writ from the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, I notice that corruption is not only in Bigelow's court section, but among some of the defense attorneys and also Louisiana appellate courts.

Attorney Armond noted in the Supervisory Writ that Court found probably cause. Clearly not true especially with Attorney Armond making it part of the district court's record that he is waiting on discovery from the State. and, then again in the Supervisory Writ to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.

And, to add to the corruption, Attorney Armond filed the Supervisory Writ into The Clerk of Court Office of the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court Of appeal on July 5, 1995. Filed and stamped by Danielle Scott, Clerk of Court. The writ was notarized by Robert Marrero, Notary Republic on July 5, 1995. The return date from Bigelow's court was July 5, 1995. In other words, July 5, 1995 is the date the writ is due into the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.

Unfortunately for me, despite the dateline was met, appellate court judges Moon Landrieu, Robert Klees, and Patricia rivet Murray denied my Supervisory Writ. Landrieu, Klees, and Murray all lied and said the Supervisory Writ was turned in after the 30 day grace period set by Bigelow's court.

Trial date was September 21, 1995. Jurors found me guilty of Attempted Second Degree Murder. The trial experience I will never forget. The victim was now allowed to testify, despite the defense being denied the right to cross-examine the victim during the Preliminary Hearing. A gun was brought into the trial for as the prosecutor stated " for demonstrative purposed" and was allowed to do so by Judge Bigelow, the State used the testimony of a witness who was awaiting trial in Jefferson Parish. Victim statements contradicted the two female statements who were walking down the street with him at the time of the shooting. All three stated the shots came from behind them.

This unforgettable experience reminds me more and more of innocent men and women in prison and some who have been executed.

I was sentence to 40 years as a first offender. The maximum sentence for Attempted Murder is 50 years. I served 20 flat years in Louisiana Prison system for a crime I did not commit. Yet, my 3 children grew up without me, I was college educated, and a working young man.

All my appeals were denied by the law clerk. I was denied parole 4 times and denied a Clemency by the Louisiana Board.

Please help!


Darryl Robinson, a victim of Judge Bigelow's corruption said...

Yes, my name is Darryl Robinson. I am the author of the above complaint against Judge Raymond Bigelow. My case number is 375-936, Section "I", Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.

Please communicate with me via email any avenue available to help me get my story out to the public and authorized officials.