NYPD commish slams slow pace of trials in city, cites News report

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea on Tuesday lamented the slow return of jury trials, citing a Daily News story detailing the lack of a single murder trial verdict in Brooklyn since 2019.

“The courts as I’ve said last year have slowed to such a crawl that it is really impacting the quality of life for New Yorkers,” Shea said in an NY1 interview.

“I read that article, too, and I think somebody said something like, ‘Well, I was at Madison Square Garden with 14,000 unmasked fans,’ ” Shea (photo) said, quoting a Brooklyn defense lawyer who recounted his attendance at a Nets playoff game at the Barclays Center, yet hadn’t been at a court trial since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The News reported there were zero murder trials in Brooklyn starting from January 2020 through Monday, compared with 2018 and 2019, when there were 69 verdicts handed down for killings in Kings County. The pandemic shut down the courts for much of that time, though there was a brief time last fall when trials were held before restarting again in March.

The comeback pace of courtroom trials across the city has been slow, however. Brooklyn Administrative Judge Matthew D’Emic told The News the court is handling about half the trials it would have in a pre-COVID world.

D’Emic said “a couple” murder trials are scheduled for August and September.

Halfway through 2021, there have been just 24 trials in the city, according to the Office of Court Administration data shared with the Daily News. “I don’t think [the courts] are getting back into operation. Having one or two trials and saying, ‘OK, we’re open’ is not back in operation,” Shea said.

“Last year we told you and highlighted this. It was about a year ago and quickly we were told, ‘No no, the courts are open.’ Then fast-forward a year and now we hear, ‘Well, the courts will be open by the summer.’ Where exactly is the truth?” Shea asked.

An Office of Court Administration spokesman blasted Shea’s comments.

“The de Blasio administration, yet again, is showing their total lack of knowledge of the judicial process in this state,” Lucian Chalfen said in a statement to The News. “Courts are open and have been throughout the pandemic. Court and judicial staffing is at 100%. In New York City, today, there are 16 grand jury panels hearing felony cases. Criminal trials are ongoing and new ones are being calendared.”