by Carolyn James

Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone holds a press conference in front of District Court Central Islip last Thursday announcing that the Town is prepared to defend its Bureau of Administrative Adjudication against what he termed was a "turf" challenge from the New York State Court System.

In what Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone described as an "unprecedented" lawsuit, the New York State Court System is suing the Town of Babylon saying its community court is illegal. Standing in front of District Court in Central Islip, Bellone and supporters of the court, informally called the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, said the suit "sets a dangerous precedent and abdicates the state court system’s role as neutral arbiter of private disputes and Constitutional questions."

The suit was filed with Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman as plaintiff last month in Supreme Court, Suffolk County, which is part of the court system that is taking the legal action. The suit maintains that the town’s community court is unconstitutional and unlawful since it was established under home rule instead of through state legislation.

"It restricts or impairs the power of the State Legislature in relation to the courts...and conflicts with and purports to supersede the jurisdiction granted to the Suffolk County District Court by the State Legislature," the suit alleges.

"Mr. Bellone’s comments are untrue and disingenuous, and it is unfortunate that he has chosen to ignore the serious issues in this case and attempt to try it in the media," said David Bookstaver, a spokesman for Michael Colodner, attorney representing the Office of Court Administration, which brought the case.

Bookstaver said that officials from the courts have met and discussed the issue with the town on numerous occasions, raising their concerns about preempting the state legislature. "Despite that, the town decided to arbitrarily move ahead," he said.

But according to Bellone, the town made every effort to get state legislation passed authorizing the court but that efforts to do that failed. When it became clear that the negotiations with the court system had stalled, Bellone moved forward under a local law and began operating the court in November of 2004. Since that time, he said, dozens of cases against code violators that had lingered in District Court for years, have now been resolved.

"These cases affect the quality of life of Babylon Town residents," said Bellone. "They are real world issues that impact tremendously on the lives of the people who have to live with them every day and it is an egregious abuse of judicial authority and an unwarranted interference with our ability to protect Babylon’s residents."

Jackie McCullough, a representative of NATA, which deals with the problems of quality of life issues on a daily basis, put it this way: "This (the court) was a long-considered move that we talked about as a community," she said. "It was designed to get compliance from violators whose cases lingered in District Court for years without any resolution, and it is working."

Gwendolyn Brown, another town resident who attended the press conference said she has seen a dramatic change in her community since the court has opened. "It always took too long to get a problem resolved," said Brown. "This court works, and it’s something we need if we are going to maintain the character of a suburban community."

When the town was facing a proliferation of illegal massage parlors and X-rated businesses, it toughened laws to limit their locations. It then went after violators in an effort to address community concerns about the establishment. Supporting those moves was the Long Island Citizens for Community Values.

"I cannot understand why someone would want to stop a town that is trying to make their neighborhoods safer," said Robert Lloyd, a spokesman for the organization. "Why would they take the side of the slumlords and violators against the people?"

The difference between the District Court and the community court is that District Court is designed to handle criminal cases and has many procedural requirements that slow down the process, said Bellone.

"The problem is not the people who work there," he said, "it is the system itself." He referred to a decision by Judge Michael D. Stallman in which the judge stated that "experience has shown that the criminal process is an ineffectual tool for correcting the large volume of routine Administrative Code violations...." and that "most garden variety code prosecutions should be diverted to an administrative adjudication tribunal which could expeditiously determine them without the rigorous pleading and evidentiary requirements of criminal law."

Bookstaver said there was a reason why the court system and the legislature did not move forward and approve the measure to allow the court to operate. He declined to be more specific, saying he did not want to try the case in the newspapers. "Suffice to say that there were concerns," he said.

James McDonaugh, Bellone's Republican challenger in November has raised similar concerns about the bureau. "I have always maintained that there is a problem with due process when you have a judge who is appointed and paid by the town and who is hearing cases brought before him by the town," said McDonaugh. "That is not fair and proper."

Additionally he added that New York state will begin making changes at the District Court level under legislation that goes into affect in January. "This will allow the District Court to address many of the concerns the town has raised," he said. "I would think that it would be in the town's best interests to wait for that."

While the lawsuit does not claim that the Town’s court violates the rights of defendants, Bellone said that Babylon went a step further than other courts in communities such as Buffalo to ensure fairness and equity. Babylon provides an immediate appeals process for defendants that similar courts do not offer. However, if the concern raised by the plaintiffs in the case is simply that the State Court System want state legislation passed, Bellone said he would welcome the assistance of (District Administrative) Judge Leis in going to Albany to lobby for the approval.

"I urge them to drop this lawsuit and join me in getting this legislation, which has been stalled, passed," he said.