Ramon Barroso, a 45-year-old ex-con with four burglary convictions, got lucky when he was arraigned in Judge Carol Feinman's courtroom recently. Barroso was busted for breaking into a church in the Bronx after detectives traced his DNA to a sample from a safe. The Post reports that Barroso told cops he is an "expert safe cracker" and, as such, he would have worn gloves had he committed the crime. And Feinman agreed, declining to set bail at the $50,000 prosecutors requested. more ›

There's a reason that God rested on the seventh day—nobody wants to work on Sundays! And judging by this NY Times article today, you know who particularly loathes working on Sundays? Judges. But several dozen judges across the state are voluntarily putting their golf clubs in storage in order to work Sunday July 24, the day that same-sex marriage becomes legal. “I’m a Family Court judge — I’m a judge for families — and I saw this as a way for me to do my job," said Judge Joan S. Kohout. more ›

Controversy continues to plague the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest held at Coney Island on July 4; but this time, it has nothing to do with Kobayashi vs. Chestnut, and everything to do with a female eater named Grace Lee. more ›

If you felt left behind by all your CEO buddies who were getting raises, don't sweat it, you're in good company: judges in New York haven't received a raise in 12 years, and their pay is ranked 46th in the nation. But before you ready your tiny violins for a class of people that make over $100K a year, consider that the exodus of judges just means MORE LAWYERS. more ›

While it's no surprise that old white guys like Bob Dylan, old white guys in power liking Bob Dylan is kinda ironic because you know, Dylan HATES The Man. The LA Times notes that "no musician's lyrics are more often cited than Dylan's in court opinions and briefs." This was especially true in the landmark ruling Record Buyers v. "Self Portrait" (392 US 515) in which Justice Thurgood Marshall—quoting the album in its entirety—declared that listening to Dylan's 1970 bomb was "akin to shoving glass shards into one's ear canal with a coathanger." more ›

New York State’s 1,300 judges are unhappy. And if we had gone 12 years without a raise we'd probably be a bit peeved too. But are they unhappy enough to start a union? Possibly! more ›

In the spring, real inroads were made for quipping Judges everywhere, when one Harry Stone-wannabe poked giant holes in a suspects defense with the sheer force of his jokes. But now a newly-banned upstate Judge may have set back quipping Judges centuries, thanks to an embarassing series of encounters with one young woman with a turtle-emblazoned shirt. more ›

More details have emerged about Judge James D. Gibbons, who abruptly resigned earlier this month just before it was publicly revealed that inquiries into his work computer turned up pornography. The Manhattan district attorney's office is scouring the files to determine if any of the girls are underage, and if criminal charges are warranted. According to the Daily News, an investigator told them that, "There was a lot of porn on his computer—all young women. Lots of crotch and cleavage shots." more ›

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James D. Gibbons, who was appointed under Giuliani, resigned abruptly on Aug. 17. Today, the circumstances around the resignation were revealed: Gibbons had a possibly conflict-ridden relationship with a female Legal Aid attorney, who he had a child with. Then in the course of that inquiry, investigators discovered pornography on his work computer. more ›

Yesterday, a number of judges protested their low pay outside the state Supreme Court in Brooklyn. According to the Post, they were "dressed in their black robes" and "bemoaning the fact that law professors and even first-year associates at major firms earn more than their $136,700 annual salaries... Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who joined the protest, said Nevada, Tennessee and Alaska pay their jurists more than New York does." Low judicial pay in NY State has been an issue for years and a March NY Times editorial pointed out, "New York judges have not seen a pay raise since 1999, not even a token cost-of-living increase." more ›

In a trial that will most likely sully the good name of bloggers everywhere, three judges testified against right-wing blogger Harold "Hal" C. Turner for threatening to kill them for upholding a handgun ban in Chicago. Turner wrote in June that Judges Richard A. Posner, William J. Bauer and Frank H. Easterbrook "deserve to be killed" and “If they are allowed to get away with this by surviving, other judges will act the same way." The first trial last December ended with a deadlocked jury, claiming they didn't have enough evidence against Turner. However, the judges didn't testify at that trial. more ›

New York City judges spent taxpayer money on seemingly personal purchases like meditation retreats, framed photographs of themselves, and an iPod, according to the New York Post. Each year, judge's receive an expense allowance of $10,000 each — a citywide total of $12.6 million per year — to cover their work-related costs. But the stipend, which doubled in value on Nov. 1, is sometimes used on "frivolous expenses," the tabloid reports. more ›

Today, more than 50 musicians and musical acts gathered on the northeast balcony of Grand Central Terminal to audition for spots in NYC Transit's Music Under New York program. MUNY grants buskers spots in subway stations to entertain commuters and make a little cash in the process. more ›

State judges have been agitating for a salary raise for a while, but since state legislators are determined to link judicial raises to legislator pay raises. Now judge are planning a "rule-book slowdown" and other ways to get back at the Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver and the state legislature. more ›

State judges want a raise in salaries after years of paycheck stagnation. They got close during last year's budget negotiations as the former Governor Spitzer lobbied on their behalf, but the proposal was dropped in closed-door negotiations. The primary stumbling block: state legislators are tying any raise in judges' salaries to a pay raise for themselves. more ›