Officials blast N.Y. judge for demanding undercover officers' names

By The Associated Press

07.28.02

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NEW YORK — Police and union officials have accused a judge of jeopardizing narcotics detectives by ruling their names should be revealed in open court.

At a July 24 Manhattan news conference, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called the decision made earlier this month by acting state Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Cropper "deeply disturbing because revealing the names of our undercover officers has the potential to put their lives and the lives of their families in immediate danger." (In New York, Supreme Courts are trial-level courts.)

Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, also lashed out at Cropper, accusing her of "giving a foot up" to criminals.

"This is a dangerous precedent," he said.

Cropper has declined to comment outside of court. But she made her position clear July 20 at a pretrial hearing.

"In this courtroom, we are going to use names," she said, according to a transcript.

The issue arose in the otherwise routine case of a defendant accused of dealing drugs last year in Washington Square Park.

Two detectives called to testify wanted to use fake names or badge numbers to identify three undercover officers involved in the arrest — a common practice in drug cases. But after hearing arguments from both sides, Cropper ruled that using the names would neither jeopardize the lives of the officers nor the future of the drug case.

The judge said she had to preserve the constitutional right of the defendant to face his accusers. "I don't see that a sufficient showing has been made in this case for me to abrogate the right of this defendant to a public trial," she said.

The detectives still refused to give the names of the officers, even after Cropper warned them that they were "defying a rule and the direction of the court." The judge responded by barring the detectives' testimony.

The judge agreed to delay the trial until Aug. 1 so that prosecutors have time to appeal her decision.