CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A Long Island judge accused of texting advice to prosecutors on how to try a case against a defendant facing a drug charge has been moved to the Civil Part of the District Court.
Judge Barbera-Dalli. Courtesy photo.
Suffolk County Administrative Judge C. Randall Hinrichs moved Judge Janine Barbera-Dalli, effective immediately. It’s not clear what other disciplinary action the judge might face.
“Judge Barbera-Dalli has spent years handling some of Suffolk County’s toughest and most heart-wrenching cases as the principal judge in all matters regarding human trafficking. Her work has been widely regarded and has made a meaningful difference in hundreds of lives. Judge Barbera-Dalli welcomes the review by the court system so that she can clear her name,” said her attorney, Clifford Robert.
Legal Aid Society lawyer Juliann Ryan said prosecutors shared the texts with her before the trial started.
Ryan says Barbera-Dalli called her client a “trafficker” and suggested a legal strategy to remove Legal Aid from the case. Ryan says the texts showed “extreme bias” on Barbera-Dalli’s behalf.
The defendant is charged with heroin possession and loitering.
Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association president Christopher Brocato called Barbera-Dalli’s actions “outrageous” and questioned her impartiality.
