A "CONFLICTING INTEREST"
For the second time since 2003, the Appellate Division, First Department has reversed a decision by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos in the continuing litigation concerning tobacco company payouts under the 1998 nationwide tobacco settlement. But that's not all. The appellate court also removed Ramos from presiding over any such future litigation. The New York Law Journal has the story. The panel reversed Ramos’s ruling granting the State Attorney General’s request for a New York-centric — rather than unified and national — arbitration over a loophole in the settlement. The existing deal allows the 45 signatory cigarette makers (who operate with marketing restrictions) to receive a reduction in their annual payments for any year in which they can show that the pact has caused them to lose market share to the 80 manufacturers who operate outside the accord. Ramos had found that each state has a “conflicting interest.”

SEX OFFENDERS ONLY, PLEASE 
The New York Times over the weekend profiled Westchester County Court Judge Jeffrey Cohen’s specialized Felony Sex Offender Court, one of three created in 2006 by Chief Judge Judith Kaye to cultivate an expertise among New York judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers in this tricky, volatile area of the law. The article examines a complaint by some attorneys that the state is shortchanging some indigent suspects brought before the court by not providing money for independent psychiatric evaluations, and by not distinguishing enough between the variance in crimes. “It’s very rigid, which is the opposite of what a specialized court should be,” said Legal Aid attorney Diane Webster. Judge Cohen, who has been running the court since January, vociferously disagreed. “If you let a guy out and he re-offends, there is a measure of personal responsibility, which every judge has in every case, but with sex offenses, the circumstances are very emotional,” he said. “I’m hoping that the justice that results from this type of specialized court is appropriate.”

A PROFOUND "COINCIDENCE"
For the first time in nearly a quarter century, Newsday reports that Nassau Republicans have agreed to cross-endorse a Democratic judicial candidate, Norman St. George, for County Court Judge. Since becoming the party’s chairman in 1993, Joseph Mondello has encouraged a ban on cross endorsements. The Democratic party, oddly, also plans on cross endorsing a Republican candidate, Angelo Delligatti, a former Oyster Bay town supervisor, for District Court Judge. But Mondello denied the two acts were connected. "If the Democrats say that, I call them liars,” he said. Responded Nassau Democratic Party chairman, Jay Jacobs: “If it makes Joe Mondello more comfortable, it was a colossal coincidence.”

A JUDGE AND A JURY CHARGE 
And Newsday also reports on continuing developments in the brouhaha over the Nassau County Court’s Grand Jury charge. In that dust-up, defense attorneys allege the court’s policy of asking potential grand jurors if they are “willing to serve” on a particular panel amounts to asking for volunteers. Judge Frank Gulotta, who oversees the county's Grand Jury proceedings, took to the witness stand last week and defended the practice, saying, “The panels selected are a cross section of the general panel that has been subpoenaed.” He added, “I think it might be in everyone's best interest to have a panel that's willing to serve.” County Court Judge Jerald Carter is presiding over the dispute.

STENOGRAPHER SURPRISE
The state judiciary committee recently approved S7995, a bill that aims to restrict the use of mechanical recordings in courtrooms--a method used to produce electronic transcripts, rather than live transcriptions. According to the Law Journal, The bill responds to criticism from courthouse regulars about the quality of these electronic transcripts. "I don't think it is improper at all that the Legislature finds that there are problems with mechanical recordings in criminal cases or delinquency cases in Family courts. We should be able to legislate in order to prevent some injustice that might occur," said Senator John DeFrancisco, chair of the Judiciary Committee.