DA Disqualified in Matter He Presided Over as Judge in Early Stage

11/09/12

On Thursday, the Appellate Division, Third Department unanimously rejected the arguments of Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka, that the “unique role” of a prosecutor empowered him to override Section 17 of the state Judiciary Law barring attorneys from handling cases the presided over as judge. In the instant case, Czajka had presided over the matter as country judge, though he resigned from the position in May 2011 to run for the post of district attorney.

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The appeals court upheld a decision to assign a special prosecutor in the criminal case, a decision that had been challenged by Czajka. Writing for the bench, Justice John Egan observed, “The statute, to our reading, could not be more clear and plainly operates to disqualify … Had the legislature wished to carve out an exception for district attorneys, it surely could have done so.”

In the instant case, Nicholas Fox was charged with a number of misdemeanors including the possession of a weapon in April 2010. As the county judge at the time, Czajka presided over important portions of the case including two arraignments, the unsealing of a search warrant, and a motion by the public defender’s office to disqualify itself. Czajka left the position of a county judge and became the district attorney in November 2011.

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In May this year, County Judge Richard Koweek granted a motion made by the accused to disqualify Czajka and his staff and appointed the Greene County District Attorney as special prosecutor in the matter. Czajka disagreed and filed an Article 78 petition seeking to overturn the decision of Koweek, upon arguments of the district attorney serving a “unique role.” Though the argument was unique in itself, the Third Department failed to buy it, and upheld Koweek’s decision.

The case is the Matter of Paul Czajka v. Judge Richard Koweek, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, No. 514623.