WHITE PLAINS, NY (August 3, 2022) — Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah is seeking to prevent New Rochelle Judge Matthew J. Costa from enforcing his decisions to preclude evidence and testimony in a pair of drunk driving cases.
Why it matters: The DA is challenging whether a person accused of a crime is entitled to all evidence on a timely basis as required under a new state law.
The case is a unicorn:
- A DA filing an Article 78 against a judge is an extraordinary legal maneuver
- The request is particularly unusual in seeking a rare “writ of prohibition”
- The Attorney General typically represents a judge but chose not to in this matter
- Few legal experts could recall such a case
“It is a rarity,” said Lucian Chalfen, a spokesperson for the New York State Court system.
The legal arguments:
- Rocah says Costa tossing out vital evidence amounted to an “improper arrogation off power terminating a prosecution without authority” which undermines her “future ability to enforce the law in New Rochelle”
- Costa says he is simply applying the plain language of CPL 245, a new state law, which requires prosecutors to turn over discovery material within a faster timeline
- Michael Molina, Gustavo Serrano, the DWI defendants, were also named in the filing
The big picture:
- Costa dealt Rocah’s newly formed Law Enforcement Integrity Division a blow by acquitting NRPD Det. Michael Vaccaro
- Rocah became an issue in the Vaccaro case when she followed Costa on Twitter
- As a progressive DA candidate, Rocah supported reforms such as CPL 245
More context:
The Facts of the Molina DWI Case
The Facts of the Serrano DWI Case
The timeline
- May 13, 2022: Article 78 filed by Rocah against Costa, Molina and Serrano
- May 13, 2022: Judge Barry Warhit issued a Stay in the Molina and Serrano cases
- June 9, 2022: Molina filed an Answer^
- June 27, 2022: Rocah replied to Molina’s Answer
- July 1, 2022: Costa filed a Motion to Dismiss
- July 12, 2022: Rocah filed Opposition to Costa’s Motion to Dismiss
- July 27, 2022: Costa filed Opposition to Rocah’s Opposition to Costa’s Motion to Dismiss
^Serrano did not file an Answer to Rocah’s Article 78 Petition
Next steps:
- Judge Cacace will decide on Judge Costa’s Motion to Dismiss
- If Costa’s Motion to Dismiss is granted the Article 78 proceeding is over, the Stay is lifted, and, most likely, the DA drops the two DWI cases
- If Costa’s Motion to Dismiss is denied the Article 78 proceeding continues
- If the Article 78 proceeds, Costa and Rocah will file papers on the Article 78
- Once all papers are filed, Judge Cacace has 60 days to decide the Article 78
Go deeper: a detailed analysis of the case as of August 1, 2022.
Legal filings (as of August 1, 2022)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This case was not filed electronically so each piece of paper (1,000+ pages) was photographed on an iPhone then the images converted to PDF
Article 78 Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah v Judge Matthew Costa: Order to Show Cause
Article 78 Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah v Judge Matthew Costa: Motions and Responses
