Malliotakis: Judges Elected in Manhattan Should Not Serve on Staten Island

(STATEN ISLAND, NY) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) yesterday sent a letter to the New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts, Lawrence Marks, urging them to make the necessary changes to ensure judges elected by Staten Islanders are serving within the borough's court system, including over the weekends.

The letter comes as New York City Civil Court Judge Lisa Headley, who was elected to the court in August 2015 by residents of Manhattan within the city's 8th Municipal Court District, granted unsupervised releaseto Bessam Camacho, a career criminal, one day after he was arrested on Staten Island with a loaded gun, despite prosecutors' request to hold him on $250,000 bail.

"The release of this individual, who was taken into NYPD custody 10 times prior, is the latest example of those, not elected by the constituencies they are adjudicating upon, making bad decisions that jeopardize the well-being and safety of the surrounding community," Malliotakis wrote. "[Judge Headley] was not elected by Staten Island voters, yet Staten Island, a community that supports law and order with the proclivity to elect more conservative judges, is subjected to the decisions of off-Island judges. I implore you to make the necessary changes to ensure that judges elected by Staten Islanders themselves are serving within this borough’s court system, including over the weekends."

The full text of the letter can be found HERE.