Tough Cases by Russell Canan

Author:Russell Canan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781620973875
Publisher: The New Press
Published: 2018-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

8

A Quiet Grief

JUDGE LIZBETH GONZÁLEZ

Judge Lizbeth González was appointed to New York City Housing Court, elected to New York City Civil Court, appointed to New York City Family Court, elected to New York State Supreme Court, where she currently serves as a trial judge, and appointed to the Appellate Term, where she concurrently serves as an Associate Justice. She is also a past president of the Latino Judges Association.

I BEGAN MY JUDICIAL CAREER WHEN I WAS APPOINTED TO THE NEW York City Housing Court, where I sat for several years. During one rotation in the trial part, I was greatly troubled to see a tall, powerful-looking tenant walk into my courtroom followed by his son. Mr. Johnson was wild-eyed, and his son Aaron was severely autistic.* Mr. Johnson and the landlords with whom he had a dispute initially appeared before a judge in the resolution part to determine whether a settlement was possible or whether the matter should be dismissed on technical grounds. The case was ultimately sent to me for trial. Out of concern that this special-needs child faced eviction if his father lost at trial, I asked for a summary of the facts to see if a settlement was still possible.

It took a lot of effort to deal with the parties. The self-represented father bellowed that he would not pay rent because repairs were outstanding. The managing agent, the building representative, and their lawyer were clearly rattled. The petitioner-landlord was a community housing association trying to do the right thing by its tenant. Although its representatives wanted to settle, Mr. Johnson wanted to vent. As he spoke, Aaron freely roamed the courtroom—not a problem (so long as he was safe) since only the litigants, court staff, and I were in the courtroom. I soon realized that the louder Mr. Johnson talked, the faster the boy moved. When Mr. Johnson became agitated, Aaron became agitated. I urged—then directed—the father to lower his voice since the attachment between them was clear.

Mr. Johnson was belligerent. The petitioner’s representatives recounted the numerous times that repairs were attempted but access was denied; they nonetheless requested assistance in devising an access schedule and promised that repairs would be effected. I kept watching Aaron; he was tall and husky and maybe eleven years old.

Although my small trial courtroom was otherwise empty, the atmosphere became extremely tense. Like my court officer and court clerk, I found myself scrutinizing the father’s body language and his hands, most especially, watching for any sudden movements.

I had no problem with Aaron until he climbed onto the courtroom benches and began to walk where people customarily sit. I sternly addressed Mr. Johnson and told him to control his son. At his father’s command, Aaron stepped onto the floor, pacing back and forth as he randomly vocalized. That’s when it clicked. By using his voice, the father could calm Aaron or use him as a distraction; that Mr. Johnson could manipulate his son to cause a commotion in court was also a concern.

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