What wrong with this picture ?

Hate mail unleashed on judge

BY BRIAN HARMON
DAILY NEWS LONG ISLAND BUREAU CHIEF

Monday, February 18th 2008, 4:00 AM

A Westbury Village justice wants courtroom security beefed up because of the hate mail and "crazy" e-mails he has received since he dismissed a driving without a license charge against an undocumented immigrant.

One note - posted at freerepublic.com - suggests, "Let's hire an AIDS-infected hooker ... male for [the judge's] daughter ... female for his son ... and let he/she/them be infected with AIDS, so he can rule in hopes of opening up another dialogue on the suffering in Africa."

"I have gotten some bizarre communication," said Justice Thomas Liotti, who in a written decision last week asked for a metal detector and court officers either outside or inside the courtroom. "This is crazy - absolute nonsense.

"We need security in our village courts. Otherwise, we could fall victim to some of these nuts who want to take matters into their owns hands," Liotti added.

The justice came under fire from conservatives in December when, in a 26-page decision, he kicked out a driving without a license charge against Rafael Quiroga-Puma.

Liotti, also a private lawyer with a Garden City office, said the immigrant's inability to legally obtain a driver's license under state law violated his equal protection rights because it kept him from mounting any defense to the traffic infraction. Quiroga-Puma still faces charges of driving without insurance, but Liotti said he would excuse the man from future court appearances.

The village justice noted that in January he received a letter from Quiroga-Puma's lawyer seeking security measures to keep Quiroga-Puma, who has three prior convictions for unlicensed operation of a vehicle in the state since 2005, safe.

"We're evaluating the nature of the threats," said Nassau Police Detective Lt. Kevin Smith, "to determine if they are criminal in nature or [only] angry opposition of the decision."

David Bookstaver, spokesman for the Office of Court Administration, declined to comment on any specific threats, but he noted that the office has a threat assessment unit and that "in instances where there are threats, we also deal with the local police."

In his December decision, Liotti wrote that there "exists no substantial reason for denying undocumented immigrants the right or ability to obtain a driver's license." And he concluded, "Denying immigrants, regardless of their status, a driver's license in no way constitutes a necessary means of achieving national security."

In his decision last week, he said, "some of the views expressed" against his earlier ruling "are so out of proportion that they are racist and borderline delusional."

"My decision does not pose a threat to our way of life; it is meant to enhance it by promoting safety on our highways.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/200 ... judge.html

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This judge is basicly saying this illegal alien doesn't need a
license to drive and thats just tough if you don't like it

Now what happened to equal protection ?
If he doesn't need one , neither do I

Yeah right

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