As NYS Justice Beller Talks Her Own Jury Duty Mysteries of WebCrims and Rikers Birthday

As NYS Justice Beller Talks Her Own Jury Duty Mysteries of WebCrims and Rikers Birthday by Matthew & Russell Lee, Patreon Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 23 –  A trial for attempted murder was starting with jury selection on Monday, March 23 before NYS Justice Beth Beller. Inner City Press was there.    While waiting for the potential jurors to be brought in, Justice Beller told the lawyers that she herself is up for jury duty. While it seems unlikely she will get on a jury, where her fellow jurors would presumably look to her for the law, she said she's served twice before. While in law school, she was on a criminal jury - misdemeanor, she hastened to add. (In the Bronx she was known as the judge least likely to allow a defendant out pre-trial, at least without putting money down).   Then while a prosecutor, she served in a civil jury. (She also, along with her husband, sued the MTA for an alleged motor vehicle tort).    As the prospective jurors were brought in, Inner City Press was asked to leave the courtroom.  Through the slit of the closed doors, sounds of the questioning began.    Next in Tap A, Justice Julieta Lozano was considering the pro se motion to dismiss of a defendant facing 12 years to life, as offered by the prosecutors. What was not offered, at least not in WebCrims, was the name of this defendant, who may soon disappear upstate.    Another defendant up for sentencing asked only that he be left downstate until his April 7 birthday, so his family can celebrate with him on Rikers Island. Motion granted!    Down in APAR1 - disappeared from WebCrims for the afternoon, a man previous charged with criminal display of a body part now stood accused of flipping over a table in a dispute with a security guard in his building in Midtown. Location, location, location - Inner City Press remains on the beat. *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material / documents on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. And/or join on Substack here, for Extra like on X for Subscribers Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com