Articles

Profile of the Hon. Lawrence J. Finnegan, Jr.

by Michael Goldsmith

An aspiring writer. A proud father. A professor. A distinguished prosecutor. An entrepreneur. An owner of an endangered tropical paradise. No stranger to controversy. A Supreme Court Justice. Any and all of the above can be used to describe the Hon. Lawrence J. Finnegan, Jr.

Future Supreme Court Justice Finnegan grew up in Flushing, New York. His father, who passed away several years ago, was a food broker. His homemaker mother passed away this July.

A life long Queens resident, Justice Finnegan attended grade school at St. Andrews, in Flushing. As a 12 year old, he was so inspired by the inauguration of President Eisenhower, he resolved to pursue a career in public service, and decided that a law degree would be the best vehicle to achieve that goal.

Justice Finnegan received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration, and his Bachelor of Laws degree from St. Johns University in 1962 and 1965, respectively.

After his admission to the bar in 1966, the future Supreme Court Justice worked as an associate in the law firm of Ziegler, Murray, Gill, Clabby and Regan, of Flushing, New York.

In January, 1967, Justice Finnegan began his career with the Queens County District Attorneys Office. Justice Finnegan describes this period as the "happiest years of my career." He started as a Trial Assistant in Criminal Court, and quickly rose through the ranks. In January of the following year, he became a Supreme Court Trial Assistant. In September, 1971, he became the Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Bureau, and in May, 1973, he was promoted to Chief of the Fraud Bureau. From January 1974 to May, 1975, he served as Chief of the investigation Bureau, an from June 1975 to December, 1975, ADA Finnegan served as Chief of the Supreme Court Trial Bureau, where he supervised 36 trial assistants.

In 1973, Justice Finnegan was involved in a highly publicized case that first brought him notoriety. On the Ides of March, there was a massive explosion at Jamaica Avenue and 218th Street. the result was that "an entire city block was wiped off the map." The explosion, which obliterated several commercial properties including an OTB office and a Strauss Store, was determined to be the result of a gas leak, and the property was promptly paved over.

That evening, a Valley Stream man named John Donnelly, never came home. His wife, Barbara, unsuccessfully tried to convince several governmental agencies that her husband was buried in the rubble. No one believed her until a detective introduced her to ADA Finnegan. Although Mr. Donnelly was suspected of abandoning his wife and six children, the young ADA decided to investigate the matter when he learned that the missing person was sometimes employed by the owners of the property, and on the night in question, he left the house without taking extra clothes or money. What convinced ADA Finnegan that Mr. Donnelly did not intentionally abandon his family was that before he left, he plugged in his electric razor to recharge.

In August 1973, after obtaining an order from Justice Moe Weinstein to excavate the property, and after digging a hole 80 feet long, 40 feet wide and 20 feet deep, the mortal remains of John Donnelly were brought to light.

Further investigation by the District Attorney's Office brought out the entire story. The owners of the property were involved in a nasty lease dispute with Strauss Store, and decided to resolve the problem by hiring Donnelly to eliminate Strauss. Evidently something went awry, and the entire block, as well as Mr. Donnelly, were annihilated. Ultimately, one of the owners died of a heart attack while awaiting trial, and the other was convicted of murder. By the time of the trial, Justice Finnegan had already left the DA's office, and the case was successfully prosecuted by future Judge Robert C. McGann.

In December, 1975, Justice Finnegan left the DA's office to become the Inspector General for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. In August, 1976, until October, 1979, Justice Finnegan served as Assistant Counsel at the New York State Commission of Investigation. During that period, he also served as General Counsel and Inspector General at the New York City Department of Correction. Working at the Department of Corrections was the most difficult position Justice Finnegan ever held. "Problems never stopped. It was a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job."

From November 1980 to May, 1981, Justice Finnegan served as Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance.

Justice Finnegan began his judicial career when he was appointed the Criminal Court by Mayor Edward Koch, in May, 1981, and served there until his appointment as Acting Justice of the Supreme Court in January, 1984. At 40 years of age, Judge Finnegan was the youngest judge in New York City. Justice Finnegan enjoyed his time on the Criminal Court Bench, as it is the "nuts and bolts" of the criminal judicial system. Looking back, Justice Finnegan reflected, "Here I sit in the rarified atmosphere of the Supreme Court, where I make more money and work less hard than Criminal Court Judges."

In November, 1987, Justice Finnegan was elected to the Supreme Court by the Eleventh Judicial District. It was here that Justice Finnegan presided over several publicized and controversial cases. One case involved four police officers charged with using excessive force in subduing a defendant charged with marijuana possession with a stun gun. All four officers were convicted of assault. Justice Finnegan received a lot of hate mail as a result of the trial.

Justice Finnegan also presided over one of the first cases involving the "Battered Wife Defense." On December 19, 1986, Karen Straw stabbed her husband Tony to death. She claimed that the stabbing was in self-defense during a fight the morning after he brutally raped her at knife point in front of their two children in a crack-induced rage. Although there was a clear history of spousal abuse, District Attorney John Santucci vigorously prosecuted the case, and it was aggressively litigated by ADA Solomon Landa. Karen Straw was ably defended by Michael G. Dowd. The trial was highly publicized and emotionally charged. Mrs. Straw received the strong supported of women's advocacy groups. As reported in the October 2, 1987, edition of the Daily News, "Holly Maguigan, a lawyer at the New York University Law School's battered-women's clinic, termed Mr. Landa's technique "character assassination" and said it was typical of how such cases are handled around the country."

After Mrs. Straw was acquitted by the jury, Justice Finnegan, on the record, lambasted the prosecutor, calling his conduct "despicable" and that the case should have been dismissed in "the interest of justice."

On the whole, though, Justice Finnegan has found that most attorneys that appear before him are very good and professional. He "enjoys presiding over cases with competent counsel on both sides."

Justice Finnegan has an academic career as a law professor at St. John's University. In September, 1974, he began as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, and rose to Associate Professor in 1979. In 1985, he became a full Professor. Professor Finnegan is "very proud of his students, and derives a great deal of enjoyment" lecturing undergraduates on criminal justice ethics. "I love teaching. It is good to be involved with young people."

Justice Finnegan is the proud father of two children. his daughter, Kerrian A. Finnegan, is an associate at the prestigious firm Sullivan & Liapakis. Lawrence Finnegan, III, who was an accomplished swimmer, who amassed over 300 awards, until recently helped run a restaurant owned by the Judge on the Caribbean Island of Montserrat. Unfortunately, the restaurant had to be closed because of a "burping volcano," that threatened to destroy the entire island. The Judge's son, although a very good swimmer, needed to be evacuated by boat. Justice Finnegan, who one day thought of retiring to the sunny beaches of the tropical paradise, lamented that "there is no such thing as volcano insurance."

Justice Finnegan enjoys reading about Thomas Jefferson. He also engages in free lance writing of social commentaries, as well as parodies and satires. Justice Finnegan recently had an article published by the New York State Trial Lawyers and in New York Jurist entitled, "Madison, Jefferson and Baer; Let Jefferson Rest in Peace," in which he strongly criticized the "sheer folly" and "cheap political pandering" of certain politicians in publicly attacking U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer for his decision suppressing evidence in a drug case. Such demagoguery, according to Justice Finnegan, will have a "chilling effect on the judiciary."

Justice Finnegan's most recent article, not yet published, contains the Judge's wry observations on the jury selection process. The following is excerpted:

"Saw a couple of lawyers on a jury panel also. Nothing is more fun than watching a lawyer grill a lawyer. Each trying to figure out what the other meant by the questions used to answer the other's questions."

"Everyone involved kind of agreed unofficially to let the lawyers go for two pretty good reasons. One, who wants a lawyer on a jury when the lawyer couldn't figure out how to get out of jury service in the first place, and two, who wants a lawyer who is willing to work for $15.00 a day. Goodbye lawyers."