Here's a link to the TU story about Young's short-lived stint on jury duty. Give it a read and then read the response from Young's camp again.       

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Law-Beat-Appellate-Division-rejects-101-page-3994103.php

YOUNG

Earlier this week, in a case that kind of flew under the radar, Rensselaer County Court judge candidate Debra Young was called for jury duty.

And she was not chosen.

Why? You might ask. I’m told by someone who was in the courtroom that it was because she said she told Judge Andrew Ceresia she could not be fair and impartial if the defendant does not testify and she could not give the same credence to the testimony of a police officer as any other witness.

I’m told you can still be a juror if you admit to those two things – which is understandable for someone off the street - but say OK if the judge instructs you not hold the defendant accountable if he or she refuses to testify and to give a police officer’s testimony no more credibility than say someone with a string of felonies.

Young, from what I’m told, said she couldn’t do either and was dismissed from jury duty.

Just a little background … the above questions are asked in just about every criminal trial since the defendant always has the right to testify and since the burden of proof is on the prosecution has the right not to. And in just about every trial I have seen, cops do testify since the defendant becomes a defendant only after being arrested and generally it’s the cops doing the arresting.

Anyway, it’s all part of the Vior Dire process that the defendant, the prosecution and the judge put jurors through in an effort to get a panel that is fair and impartial and can give the defendant a fair shot. We are all human so the black and white letter of the law is blurred thanks to our inherent frailties.

That said, I don’t know who bounced Young but someone did and I know it was because of the two answers she gave.

I also know there are a number of defense lawyers out there who are trying to get a copy of the transcript to throw a monkey wrench into any trial she presides over – should she get elected county court judge – during which a police officer testifies. As I mentioned, trials where cops don’t testify are few and far between.

It’s kind of funny that Young wants to be a judge but was bounced off jury duty because she can’t follow the judge’s orders. Human frailty is probably one of the main reasons people stand in front of a judge. They do so with their attorney by their side and with the prosecution across the aisle ready to do battle with whatever means at their disposal. The judge is the referee, and is supposed to make sure what they at least kind of stick to the black and white.   

But, as one defense attorney said: “At least she was in county court.” The back story to that is that she has spent a good part of her career doing medical malpractice stuff and really hasn’t, among the opinion of many, spent too much time doing criminal work. And overseeing criminal trials is what a county court judge does.

As far as the case in question goes, police in Colonie got a complaint about two black guys who appeared to be drunk walking around in traffic near the Target on Wade Road.

Police went to check it out and there were in fact two drunk guys walking around. They weren’t necessarily doing anything wrong, but were arrested anyway after a scuffle with police – who I am sure didn’t harass them or anything.

MAIER

One of the guys, Zebedia Jackson, was taken to Samaritan Hospital in Troy and was restrained to a gurney. While restrained, from what I’m told, he started spitting on people – either on purpose or by accident.

A cop saw it, and the process of putting either a mask or a towel over Jackson’s face ended up with his hand in Jackson’s mouth. Jackson bit him and was charged with assaulting a police officer.

After a day of testimony, Ceresia tossed out the charges and Jackson, who was represented by Albany attorney Michael Jurena, is a free man and can again get drunk at his pleasure and walk around traffic on Wade Road.     

And Young is running against Troy City Court Judge Chris Maier, by the way. She has four lines thanks to the GOP having control of the Independence and Conservative parties and I think this one if going to be close.

To: Lisa Lewis, Editor, The Record

 

Date: October 27, 2012

 

Re: County court candidate Debra Young gets thrown off jury duty

 

Cc: Jim Franco, City Editor, The Record

 

We are writing this correspondence regarding a news article posted on the website of The Record, www.troyrecord.com, on October 27 which includes erroneous, false and damaging information to Debra Young.

 

Debra Young was not contacted by the reporter prior to the publication of this news article, published on The Record’s website, www.troyrecord.com on October 27, 2012.

 

Referencing the headline, “County court candidate Debra Young gets thrown off jury duty”; the headline is incorrect as Debra Young was not “thrown off” jury but in fact was not selected and no reason given for her not being chosen to serve as a juror. The statement also falsely implies misconduct or misbehavior by Debra Young as a juror; in fact, Debra Young fully and legally executed her obligations as a juror.

 

Referencing the second paragraph, Debra was not chosen to be a juror. No jurors were informed why they were not being chosen; only those picked for the panel were informed they had been selected.

 

Referencing the third paragraph, and the statement “she told Judge Andrew Ceresia”; Debra, in fact, did not talk to Judge Ceresia.

 

Referencing the third paragraph and the statement “she could not be fair and impartial if the defendant does not testify”; Debra Young, in fact, did not say the statement attributed to her.

 

Again referencing the third paragraph and the statement “she could not give the same credence to the testimony of a police officer as any other witness”; Debra Young, in fact, did not say the statement attributed to her.

 

Referencing the fifth paragraph and the statement “Young, from what I am told, said she couldn’t do either”; Debra Young, in fact, did not say the statement attributed to her. Other jurors did make the statement attributed to Debra Young.

 

Again, referencing the fifth paragraph and the statement “and was dismissed from jury duty”; no reason was given for the dismissal of Debra Young and the statement erroneously implies a reason was given for her dismissal.

 

Referencing the eighth paragraph and the statement “That said, I don’t know who bounced Young but someone did and I know it was because of the two answers she gave”; again, no reason was given for the dismissal of Debra Young, and the statement implies the reporter is unclear of the source of the information or obtained erroneous or false information via hearsay or malicious conduct.

 

Referencing the tenth paragraph and the statement “It’s kind of funny that Young wants to be a judge but was bounced off jury duty because she can’t follow the judge’s orders”; the statement is damaging to Debra Young, based on false information and moreover, there was never a statement that Debra Young was dismissed because she could not follow judge’s orders and Debra Young in fact did not disobey, fail to follow or disregard any orders by the judge in the trial. The erroneous statement is damaging to Debra Young professionally.

 

Referencing the eleventh paragraph and the statement “really hasn’t, in the opinion of many, spent too much time doing criminal work”; in fact, Debra Young has spent considerable time handling criminal work, and given the opportunity, which was not extended by the reporter, would have discussed her professional qualifications. In fact, the State Independent Judicial Elections Qualification Commission rated Debra as “Qualified”, the exact same rating given to her opponent in the race.

 

Given the numerous factual inaccuracies as described in this correspondence, we respectfully ask the article in questioned to be removed from the website of The Record, www.troyrecord.com.