A hearing Friday on whether to release the Eric Garner grand-jury evidence was put off after Justice Stephen Rooney recused himself.
Before he did, Rooney left good advice for his successor, Justice William Garnett: “Trust in our criminal justice system lies at the heart” of the Garner case.
The only way to ensure that trust now is for Garnett to OK the release of the transcripts and evidence from the grand-jury investigation.
That is, all the evidence.
The request for disclosure by the court comes from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Legal Aid Society, Public Advocate Letitia James and The Post. But the NYCLU also wants to keep Garner’s autopsy photos and medical records under wraps.
Big mistake. Many folks who think the grand jury erred by not indicting the cop who tried to arrest Garner before he died have given great weight to the medical examiner’s public statement, which attributes Garner’s death to “compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning” while restrained.
But the ME’s full report remains secret. And no one can possibly know if the ME’s statement is justified without seeing the evidence on which it is based.
Judge Rooney noted the need for “public confidence” in the fairness of the system, at a time when its “core values” are being questioned. We agree, which is why we want the material made public. But to cherry-pick what is released and what is not would only undermine the whole point of the exercise.
If this city is determined to second-guess the Staten Island grand jury, we say let’s have all the evidence — not just the bits and pieces that serve one narrative — and let New Yorkers make up their own minds.