NY Court of Appeals upholds appointment of special prosecutor in WFP probe

GLENN BLAIN

The Working Families Party has lost its legal battle to thwart a special prosecutor’s investigation of possible election and criminal law violations during the 2009 City Council elections on Staten Island.

The state’s highest court ruled Tuesday that the special prosecutor in the case – Roger Bennet Adler – was “validly appointed” and that Staten Island District Attorney District Attorney was justified in recusing himself from the matter.

“We are satisfied that Donovan had a good faith, reasonable basis for his view that he disqualified from pursuing the investigation within the meaning of the county law,” the Court of Appeals ruled.

Attorneys for the Working Families Party had argued in court that Donovan failed to demonstrate a conflict of interest that would warrant his recusal and had challenged subpoenas issues by Adler seeking party documents and communications dating back to 2008.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/ny-court-appeals-upholds-appointment-special-prosecutor-wfp-probe-blog-entry-1.1823836#ixzz34FoKm18g