ShawnDya L. Simpson
ShawnDya L. Simpson is a former judge for the Supreme Court 2nd Judicial District in New York. She was elected in the general election on November 8, 2016. Simpson retired on October 31, 2020.[1]
Simpson was a judge for the New York City Criminal Court of New York County from 2004 to 2016.[2]
Education
Simpson received her undergraduate degree in 1987, and her J.D., in 1990, from the University of Pittsburgh.[2][3]
Career
Simpson worked as a New York court attorney and in the Kings County District Attorney's Office prior to her judicial election in 2003.[2][3]
Elections
2016
New York held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on September 13, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wish to run in this election was July 14, 2016.[4] The following candidates ran in the general election for six open seats on the New York Supreme Court 2nd Judicial District.[5]
| New York 2nd District Supreme Court, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic, Conservative |  Katherine A. Levine |
17.58% | 504,051 | |
| Democratic, Conservative | Mark I. Partnow Incumbent |
17.52% | 502,269 | |
| Democratic, Conservative | ShawnDya L. Simpson |
16.14% | 462,791 | |
| Democratic, Conservative | Reginald A. Boddie |
16.06% | 460,371 | |
| Democratic, Conservative | Leon Ruchelsman Incumbent |
16.03% | 459,596 | |
| Democratic | Peter P. Sweeney |
14.45% | 414,219 | |
| Conservative | Philip J. Smallman | 1.99% | 57,028 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.22% | 6,208 | ||
| Total Votes | 2,866,533 | |||
| Source: New York State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 9, 2016 | ||||
2013
See also: New York judicial elections, 2013 Simpson ran for election to the New York City Civil Court, Brooklyn. General: She defeated Vincent Martusciello in the general election on November 5, 2013, receiving 84.6 percent of the vote.[6][7]
Noteworthy cases
Former judge Frank Barbaro testifies against his own verdict in murder case
A former Brooklyn supreme court justice, Frank Barbaro, changed his mind regarding the 15-year prison sentence he handed down to Donald Kagan for murder. Interestingly, Barbaro, who is white, cited racial discrimination--against Kagan, also white--as the primary cause for his error in the case. Kagan shot and killed Wavell Wint, a black man, outside a movie theater in 1998.
Barbaro's change of heart caused a stir in Judge Simpson's courtroom on December 11, 2013, when he took the stand to testify against his own verdict. He referenced his ongoing doubt of his own decision. After reading the court transcripts, he was convinced that he did not adequately consider the self-defense argument due to his preconceived notion that Kagan was simply a racist who wanted to kill a black man. Barbaro, who retired from the court in 2003, contacted Kagan's attorney in 2011 to explain his revelation.
Barbaro testified before Judge Simpson,
| “ | I believe now that I was seeing this young white fellow as a bigot, as someone who assassinated an African-American...I was prejudiced during the trial.[8][9] | ” |
Barbaro, who served the New York State Assembly for over two decades before becoming a judge, has a reputation of fighting racism, which made his testimony all the more interesting.
On that fatal night in 1998, Kagan said that Wint tried to rob him of his gold chain as they were leaving a movie theater. Kagan had a gun on him, which he flashed at Wint. Wint, however, who was reported as having been drinking heavily, approached Kagan again. As Kagan pulled his gun out, Wint went to grab it. Two shots were fired, both of which hit Wint and killed him.
Barbaro began to believe that Kagan acted in self-defense. He even stated in an interview that, according to undisputed facts in the case, "There was no way I could have found [Kagan] guilty."[8]
However, Kagan's fate was moved into the hands of another judge--ShawnDya Simpson, who had to decide what to with this new information. She could have acquited Kagan, given him a new trial, or let the conviction stand.[10][11]
Based on the testimony of Barbaro, attorneys for both sides were in court on February 10, 2014. Kagan's attorneys requested that Simpson set aside the verdict in the case. However, the prosecutor in the case, Ken Taub, argued that Barbaro's testimony regarding his decision, given in December 2013 when he was 85, was not reliable.
In an article in the New York Times, Taub was quoted as telling the court,
| “ | The verdict was not based on racial prejudice but on a thoughtful analysis of the evidence.[12][9] | ” |
According to the prosecutor, Barbaro gave conflicting testimony in December. He intially testified he had been impartial during Kagan's trial. However, when questioned later by the defense, he claimed he convicted Kagan because he was biased against him. According to Kagan's lawyer, Barbaro was so biased that he would never have been considered a suitable juror to decide the case. He alleged that Kagan did not receive a fair trial.[12]
On October 1, 2014, Simpson upheld the conviction against Kagan, saying there wasn't sufficient reason to reverse the ruling. "This may be one of those cases that bothers me for the rest of my life," she said.[13]
See also
External links
- The New York Times, "Behind the Gavel, a Sense of Style," September 5, 2008
- New York City Criminal Court
Footnotes
- ↑ New York Post, "Brooklyn judge forced to retire early following Alzheimer’s diagnosis," August 10, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 New York State Unified Court System, "Hon. Shawndya L. Simpson," accessed October 6, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 DJ Jon Quick, "The Judge: ShawnDya Simpson"
- ↑ New York Board of Elections, "2016 Political Calendar," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ Associated Press: New York - Summary Vote Results - Brooklyn Civil Court, September 11, 2013
- ↑ New York City Board of Elections, "General Election Results: Judge of the Civil Court - County (Kings)," November 5, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The New York Times, "Ex-Brooklyn Judge Seeks Reversal of His Verdict in 1999 Murder Case," December 12, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ New York Post, "Judge laments wrongly-convicted man ‘a skeleton’ now," December 13, 2013
- ↑ CNN, "White judge says he sent a white man to prison because of racial bias," December 13, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The New York Times, "Prosecutor questions ex-judge's memory," February 10, 2014
- ↑ NBC New York, "Conviction Upheld in Brooklyn Reverse Racism Case," October 1, 2014
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Federal courts:
Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York
State courts:
New York Court of Appeals • New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division • New York Supreme Court • New York County Courts • New York City Courts • New York Town and Village Courts • New York Family Courts • New York Surrogates' Courts • New York City Civil Court • New York City Criminal Courts • New York Court of Claims • New York Problem Solving Courts
State resources:
Courts in New York • New York judicial elections • Judicial selection in New York
