Hey, Dems, time to 'bail'!
The Brooklyn Democratic Party is coming under fire for backing the re-election of a judge who has been slammed by law enforcement for letting dangerous defendants back on the street without bail.
The Kings County Democratic County Committee renominated Judge Loren BailySchiffman, who was first elected to Civil Court in 1999 and re-elected in 2009.
She is now seeking a third term and is an acting Supreme Court judge who handles criminal arraignments as well as civil cases.
In one case last year, BailySchiffman (pictured) released without bail a man who allegedly attempted to grab a cop’s gun in Bushwick’s 83rd Precinct station house.
Kurdel Emmanuel allegedly admitted afterward, “If I got hold of the gun, I could have possibly killed everybody in the room.”
Baily-Schiffman rebuffed a Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office request for $250,000 bail.
She also cut loose Derrick Gadson, 45, when he was arraigned in June 2017 on charges that he walked into a Brooklyn church and threatened to kill a nun who was inside praying.
Prosecutors sought $25,000 bail, but the judge released him.
A month later, Baily-Schiffman set free two defendants who allegedly targeted a black man walking with his white girlfriend, hurling racial slurs and threatening to “lynch” the man before beating him to a bloody pulp.
Prosecutors asked for $50,000 bail each for Bernard Szurant and Rudolph Evmenenko, but the judge released them. Szurant had 20 prior arrests. Law-and-order advocates are outraged that Baily-Schiffman is up for another term.
“I don’t see how she’s qualified to be on the ballot when she’s not qualified to be on the bench,” said Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association. “The people who support her are nutty as she is.”
Court-officers union President Dennis Quirk added, “She lets everybody out. She should be removed from the bench.”
Staten Island Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, the GOP candidate for mayor last year, said, “This pro-criminal judge should be removed from the bench for repeatedly letting dangerous offenders . . . back on the streets against the pleas of prosecutors. She has shown a lack of concern for both public safety and justice for victims.”
Brooklyn Democratic Party counsel Frank Carone defended the endorsement, saying committee members “overwhelmingly endorsed the incumbents who are found qualified by the [party’s own] independent judicial screening committee. Judge Baily is one of them.”
The Republican Party is not fielding a candidate against Baily-Schiffman, but she could still face a primary challenger. That will be determined as early as next week, when candidates file petitions with the Board of Elections.
A person answering the phone at Baily-Schiffman’s home said, “No comment. She’s not available.”