A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a Bergen County man, facing trial on charges that he allegedly participated in firebombing Jewish facilities and conspired to kill a prosecutor, should have his case presided over by a judge from outside the county.
A three-judge Appellate Division panel said Nov. 21 that the decision to have a judge from another county preside over the case was because prosecutors also intend to present evidence that the defendant, Aakash Dalal, also threatened to kill Presiding Criminal Part Judge Liliana DeAvila-Dilebi and Judge Patrick Roma, who set Dalal’s $4 million bail, the New Jersey Law Journal reported.
Appellate Division Judge Clarkson Fisher Jr., joined by Judges Thomas Manahan and William Nugent, said that while they believed a judge from Bergen County could preside over the case fairly and impartially, a judge from outside should be brought in to avoid the appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest.
“Not because we possess any doubt about the trial judge’s ability to fairly and impartially preside over this matter, but because, in the final analysis, ‘justice must satisfy the appearance of justice,’ we reverse and remand,” the panel wrote in a nine-page opinion, NJ.com reported.
Dalal has not been charged with any crimes relating to the threats to the judges.
In its published ruling, the appeals court left it up to Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter Doyne to determine whether the case should be transferred to another county or whether to bring a judge in from another county. But the appeals court reversed a ruling by Bergen County Superior Court Judge Edward Jerejian, who had denied the transfer motion made by Dalal’s attorney, Brian Neary. Jerejian had ruled that defendants could not force judges to disqualify themselves merely by threatening them, labeling it the “crudest form of judge-shopping.”
“We are pleased that the Appellate Division saw that the proceedings have to be transferred in the facing of the possible conflict,” Neary told the New Jersey Law Journal.
Dalal, now 22, and a co-defendant, Anthony Graziano, both of Lodi, N.J., were indicted in 2013 in connection with the arsons and, if convicted, could be sentenced to life in prison. Dalal was charged in late February 2012 with criminal mischief for allegedly defacing a synagogue in Hackensack with anti-Semitic graffiti. In the ensuing days, Dalal was also charged with aggravated arson of a synagogue in Rutherford and criminal mischief at a third synagogue in Maywood, as well as charges of conspiracy and intimidation.
The presiding judge in Bergen County set bail at $2.5 million, but an appeals court reduced his bail to $1 million.
Bail went up to $3 million, however, when Dalal was charged with conspiracy to murder a Bergen County assistant prosecutor, conspiracy to possess a firearm unlawfully, and terroristic threats. A grand jury returned an indictment on the synagogue charges in March 2013, and in August the grand jury handed down an indictment on the murder-conspiracy charges, according to Courthouse News Service.
Dalal, who did not actually participate in the alleged crimes, is accused of encouraging Graziano to carry out the acts.