The case is wrapping up for convicted “grid kid” murderer John Giuca, as lawyers on both sides took their final swipes at one another in front of a packed courtroom in Brooklyn Wednesday.
Judge Danny Chun told the court he expects to have decided by June 9 whether or not Giuca should be granted a new trial for his role in the 2003 murder of high school football star Mark Fisher.
Giuca did not appear in court for the hearing.
Arguments focused on jail-house snitch and 2005 trial witness John Avitto, a mentally-ill junkie who publicly recanted his original trial testimony last year.
The defense claims Avitto testified against Giuca in exchange for a benefit, while the prosecution says he was “cajoled and coerced” into his recantations.
The attorneys also faced off over the Brooklyn district attorney’s Chief of Trials Anna Sigga-Nicolazzi, who Bederow has previously alleged rigged the case against Giuca during her time as trial prosecutor in order to keep her record perfect.
“We consented to this hearing because there were serious accusations by the defense that were both grave and numerous,” Taub told the court. “The motion papers contain personal attacks on the ethics and truthfulness of Anna Sigga-Nicolazzi. I have known Ms. Nicolazzi for close to two decades, and I have respect not just for her trial abilities, but for her integrity as well.”
“She was obsessed with winning,”Bederow said of Sigga-Nicolazzi, who denied any wrongdoing under oath last November. “She was overzealous, corners were cut, and Giuca’s case was prejudiced. She chose to be willfully blind.”
“This verdict has been exposed as a complete sham that the court should not tolerate,” Bederow continued. “There is a crisis going on with wrongful convictions that is epicenter right here. This conviction can’t stand.”
“It has been made abundantly clear that Mr. Giuca was declined of a fair trial,” Bederow concluded, prompting Giuca’s rows of supporters to burst into a round of applause and cheers.
“Folks, you’re in a courtroom, you’re not anywhere else,” said Chun, clearly offended, as court officers ordered the pews to quiet down.