Kenneth Perry, who has been representing felons of all stripes for more than two decades, was arrested June 16 in a Family Court waiting room after trying to advise a client who was being arrested of his constitutional rights. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
A veteran Brooklyn criminal defense lawyer has found himself on the wrong side of the law – and he says it’s because he defended a client too well.
Kenneth Perry, who has been representing felons of all stripes for more than two decades, was arrested June 16 in a Family Court waiting room after trying to advise a client who was being arrested of his constitutional rights.
Perry, 61, claims an NYPD detective from the 84th Precinct flipped out because he was trying to stop police from questioning the client.
According to the criminal complaint, Perry was standing between his client – who was being arrested for violating a girlfriend’s order of protection – and the detectives when he was ordered to move aside. He refused and pushed the detective, the complaint states.
Perry said he never pushed the detective and insists that the courthouse surveillance tape is going to prove him right.
“I’m looking forward to vindicating myself before a jury as I didn’t do anything criminal,” Perry told the Daily News.
Lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, retained to sue the city, said Perry was submitting to being handcuffed when he informed the cops that he was going to put his cell phone in his pocket.
“His head was slammed against the wall,” Rubenstein said. He added that Perry’s head was banged a second time on the roof of a radio car outside the courthouse.
Perry, who has a heart condition, was charged with harassment, obstructing government administration and resisting arrest. He spent about 20 hours in jail, where he handed out all of his business cards to other inmates.
He has subpoenaed the courthouse camera tape and asked the Brooklyn district attorney to investigate the confrontation. The request is being reviewed, a spokesman for the DA said.
