New York City Criminal Court SECOND CALL Volume 4 … No. 9 November 2007 Data Entry - Information Backbone of Criminal Court Inside this issue: Court History Page 2 Ceremonial Unit 3 Faces of the Court 5 Law Day 2007 6 Bring Your Child 7 Seated (l. to r.): Sabrena Maddox, Sean Campbell, Monica Benning, Michelle Davis. Standing (l. to r.): Angela Toulon, Carol to Work Day 2007 Jackson, Carolyn Johnson, Jacqueline DuPree, Jennifer Gamble, Dora Bennett and LaTonn Mackey “We are the backbone of the staff, are responsible for trans- (1,233,465 calendar entries, New Judges 8 Court system,” Dora Bennett mitting information between 298,998 finished entries and said during a recent meeting of members of the Criminal 453,127 summons initializa- Milestones 9 the Data Entry supervisory Court staff, outside agencies tions). Without their careful staff. “If it wasn’t for us, no and the public, all of whom review and entry of information Second Call Q&A 10 one would know what was rely on accurate information and dispositions in a multitude Tech Tips 11 going on,” she added. Dora, from our Court records. The of databases and computer sys- Manhattan’s Senior Supervis- amount of work for which tems, actions taken in Criminal Citywide Training 13 ing Data Recording Assistant, they are responsible is truly Court would be accessible only Jackie Dupree, the Citywide staggering. Criminal Court to the few individuals that Constabulary 14 Data Entry Supervisor and the data entry staff throughout the could access the actual court Notes eighty other members of city made close to 2 million papers. The work of the data Criminal Court’s data entry database entries last year (Continued on page 4) Security Review 15 Personnel News 16 From the Desk of Administrative Judge Juanita Bing Newton Welcome to the ninth issue of the wonderful judges and staff We start with our Data Entry Courthouse Recy- 17 the renewed and revitalized that work in them. In the next staff - truly unsung heroes of cling Second Call. Since we started few issues, we will profile the the Criminal Court! Few realize Did You Know? 18 publishing Criminal Court’s various types of professionals how much we rely on these newsletter again in the summer who work in our Court. Some dedicated professionals, but Interns 23 of 2004, after an almost 30 work in the public eye, some they really are Criminal Court’s year hiatus, we have featured behind the scenes. All are information backbone. Trial Part Reserva- 23 each of our courthouses and critical to our operations. tion System - Juanita Bing Newton Page 2 New York City Criminal Court Court History Page An Old SI courthouse and the Curious Case of Elizabeth Edmunds A Criminal Court predecessor still cases including the shooting of a stands in the Stapleton neighborhood of Richmond County District Attorney. Staten Island. Built in 1889, before Elizabeth Edmunds was arraigned at Staten Island’s consolidation with the the Edgewater courthouse before rest of New York City, Village Hall is Magistrate Marsh on the charge of located at the corner of Wright and attempting to murder Albert C. Fach, Canal streets in what was then the in- Richmond County District Attorney, corporated village of Edgewater. The on August 19, 1912. Ms. Edmunds building was designed by a local Staten had charged her husband, a prominent down in Mr. Fach’s office and awaited Island architect, Paul Kuhne, and was dentist, with abandonment. Mr Fach the arrival of the police. At her arraign- thought to be one of the finest buildings prosecuted the charges, but Ms. Ed- ment, The Times reported that “Mrs. on the island at the time. munds’ husband had been acquitted. Edmunds said that she had not intended to shoot the District Attorney. She said The building was constructed to house After her husband’s acquittal, Ms. Ed- that Mr. Fach had threatened her and the municipal and magistrates’ courts. munds’ went to the district attorney’s that not until then did she lose control After New York City’s consolidation, office early on the morning of the 19th of herself and shoot him. She said she the building then held the Police Court, and demanded to know what would be hoped that Mr. Fach was not badly a forerunner to the citywide Magis- done about her case. Mr. Fach told Ms. hurt. ‘It was his own fault,’ she said, trates’ Court and our present Criminal Edmunds that there was nothing more ‘because he threatened to throw me out Court. Magistrates’ Court was moved that he could do. The New York Times of his office.’ In answer to a question to the current Targee Street courthouse reported the district attorney’s version Mrs. Edmunds said she had been in the upon its completion in 1930. The Tar- of the events. “She said something habit of carrying a pistol because of gee courthouse was designed by the about having a present for me … and insults that men had offered her.” architectural team of Sibley and Fether- reaching into [her] satchel got the pistol ston and built at a cost of $325,000. and began firing. She was only a few Edgewater Village Hall is a historic feet away, but the desk was between us landmark building still in use by the While the Edgewater courthouse never and I was unable to get to her.” Ms. city. Ironically it is currently occupied saw the hustle and bustle of the old Edmunds shot Mr. Fach three times, by both the District Attorney’s office Manhattan and Brooklyn courthouses after which Fach escaped to an office and the city’s Department of Health previously profiled in the Second Call, on the second floor of his building. Ms. and Mental Hygiene. it did see its fair share of infamous Edmunds was reported to have sat Volume 4 … No. 9 Page 3 Court Honor Guard Commended by US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito On April 28, 2007, the New York State Court Officer’s Ceremonial Unit acted as Honor Guard at Co- lumbian Lawyers Association An- nual Rapallo Award Luncheon held at the Waldorf Astoria. The Rapallo Award was presented to US Supreme Court Justice Samuel A Alito, Jr. He was so impressed with the Ceremonial Unit that he sent a letter (shown below) prais- ing their outstanding work. The Ceremonial Unit led by Sgt. James Campbell, Jr. was formed to participate in the Street Renaming Ceremony in honor of fallen court officers Capt. William Thompson, Sgt. Thomas Jurgens and Sgt. Mitchell Wallace on September 30, 2006 and has continued to repre- sent the Unified Court Sys- tem at various events since then. Offi- Top: (l. to r.) Court Honor cers par- Guard with U.S. Su- preme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., ticipating Sgt. James Camp- in the Unit bell, Jr., CO must attend Eugene Hall, CO training at the Michael Court Officer Pritchard, CO Academy from Joseph Falco, instructors, who CO Latoya have themselves Gaddy, and been through nation- CO Samia ally recognized honor Thabit. guard training. The Unit currently has eight flags representing every borough, New York City and State and the United States. The unit is comprised of seventeen court officers from the Brooklyn and the Bronx (both Criminal and Su- preme Courts). In the last year, the Ceremonial Unit has participated in the funerals of court officers John Meehan and James White and Staten Seminar Island official John D’Amato. They on gang vio- have also presented the colors at Court lence. Officer Academy graduations and (Continued on page 22) opened the Queens District Attorney’s Page 4 New York City Criminal Court (Continued from page 1) The work is not for everyone and some something new to learn.” Data Entry - Information Backbone of who try it are overwhelmed. Even ex- Work conditions can be trying in some Criminal Court perienced data entry personnel from of the old buildings Criminal Court entry staff allows almost instantaneous other courts sometimes have trouble occupies. Brooklyn Senior Data Re- dissemination of this important infor- learning everything they need to know cording Assistant Sabrena Maddox mation to a variety of people and agen- in Criminal Court. “This Court is the recalled the time she had to enter infor- cies. hardest,” said Jackie Dupree. “You mation from court papers that had been need to know so many things that don’t The data entry staff do much more than showered with water from a burst sew- come up in Civil Court or Family plug information into computers. “We age pipe in the correction area one floor Court. We need to know all of the are the CSI of the Courts,” explained above. She was given a pair of gloves. docket dispositions. We need to be able Jackie Dupree, “Research, forensics She said, “We still had to get the work to read and interpret what the judge and detective work are a big part of the done.” Manhattan Senior Data Entry says on every case. We need to know job.” The data entry staff are the last Clerk Michelle Davis told of times di- the laws and all the changes coming people to review court papers and if rectly after the September 11 attacks down. We have to know math so we any information is missing or wrong, when she and her staff were quaran- can calculate fines, surcharges, sen- they are the ones that need to make tined in the central clerk’s office at 100 tences and payments.” She added, “We sure everything is in order before the Centre Street when suspicious white do all of this under the microscope.