The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division appears to be a one party system as far as Donald Trump is concerned. This week five judges issued an unconstitutional decision upholding a gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in Donald Trump's "hush money" trial. Those judges were Julio C. Rodriguez III, Tanya R. Kennedy, Marsha D. Michael, Bahaati E. Pitt-Burke, and Anil C. Singh. All five of them are registered members of the Democratic Party, three of them are black women (one of Trump's worst demographics), and two of them were not born in the United States (another bad demographic for Trump). Worst of all they're the latest from a whole batch of bad apples responsible for a lengthy history of finding excuses to set aside the Constitution.
FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATION
Democrats will quickly point at the unanimous decision (see PDF uploaded above this article) as proof that the gag order is Constitutional, but the truth is that the authorities the court relies on were themselves unconstitutional thus rendering all opinions based on them including this one technically invalid but unlawfully enforced just the same. Donald Trump has a First Amendment right to criticize snitches in his cases including Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen neither of whom are subject to gag orders. They are free to attack Trump online and in the media but if Trump responds he is threatened with jail time. All you have to do to know that the First Amendment has been set aside is to read it and look for a clause permitting exceptions for defendants in criminal cases. If the founders intended to deny free speech rights to defendants they would have added a clause for that.
THREATENED FIFTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION
The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment clearly states that nobody can be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law" yet Trump and other defendants across the country are frequently threatened with deprivation of liberty without due process just for being accused of crimes. The outrageous fines thrown at Trump just for speaking outside of court are textbook examples of someone being deprived or their property without due process. Everyone is supposed to be treated as innocent until proven guilt yet if Trump speaks out again he could be jailed without first being convicted. All it takes is for one judge to issue a pretrial order and determine on his own that it was violated. People that still have all their rights under a proper interpretation of the Constitution frequently find themselves deprived of liberty just for being a defendant in a criminal case.
THE BAD BATCH
Democratic judges tend to be activist judges. Activist judges are more likely to shape their interpretations of the law to fit the outcomes they desire while conservative judges tend to simply interpret the law as is. While this can be beneficial for some defendants (ex: lenient sentences for historically marginalized people) they can also be bad for others (ex: harsher sentences for rich people). Cultural Marxism seems to be thriving in the state of New York's court system at the moment, so lets take a look at these judges.
JULIO C. RODRIGUEZ III
Bar Number: 2990372
Name: JULIO RODRIGUEZ III
Business Name: SUPREME COURT APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
Business Address: 27 MADISON AVE
NEW YORK, NY 10010-2201
(New York County)
Business Phone: (212) 340-0400
Email: JRod3[at]nycourts.gov
Date Admitted: 09/15/1999
Appellate Division Department of Admission: 2nd
Law School: TEMPLE
Registration Status: Attorney - Currently Registered
Next Registration: Jun 2025
VOTER REGISTRATION:
Address: 202 EMERSON AVE
City: BRONX
State: NY
Postal Code: 10465
Party: Democrat
Date Of Registration: 08/14/2008
ANIL C. SINGH
Country of Origin: India
Bar Number: 2216539
Name: ANIL CHRISTOPHER SINGH
Business Name: ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT
Business Address: 27 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010-2201
(New York County)
Business Phone: (212) 340-0500
Date Admitted: 06/13/1988
Appellate Division Department of Admission: 1st
Law School: ANTIOCH SCHOOL OF LAW
Registration Status: Attorney - Currently Registered
Next Registration: Feb 2026
VOTER REGISTRATION:
Address: 230 W 105TH ST
City: NEW YORK
State: NY
Postal Code: 10025
Party: Democrat
Date Of Registration: 09/16/1992
TANYA R. KENNEDY
Bar Number: 2558609
Name: TANYA R. KENNEDY
Business Name:
Business Address: Not on File
Date Admitted: 06/14/1993
Appellate Division Department of Admission: 1st
Law School: CARDOZO
Registration Status: Attorney - Currently Registered
Next Registration: Jul 2025
VOTER REGISTRATION:
Address: 1901 MADISON AVE
City: NEW YORK
State: NY
Postal Code: 10035
Party: Democrat
Date Of Registration: 08/21/1992
BAHAATI E. PITT-BURKE
Country of Origin: Guyana
Bar Number: 2982668
Name: BAHAATI ELIZABETH THADINE PITT-BURKE
Business Name: APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT
Business Address: 27 MADISON AVE
NEW YORK, NY 10010-2201
(New York County)
Business Phone: (212) 340-0400
Email: bepitt[at]nycourts.gov
Date Admitted: 06/14/1999
Appellate Division Department of Admission: 1st
Law School: UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
Registration Status: Attorney - Currently Registered
Next Registration: Mar 2025
VOTER REGISTRATION:
Address: 140 BELLAMY LOOP
City: BRONX
State: NY
Postal Code: 10475
Party: Democrat
Date Of Registration: 06/23/1998
Additional Likely More Current Linked Address (Not from Voting Records): 140 BENCHLEY PL APT 15E, BRONX, NY 10475
MARSHA D. MICHAEL
Bar Number: 4159216
Name: MARSHA D. MICHAEL
Business Name: NYS APPELLATE DIVISION, 1ST DEPARTMENT
Business Address: 27 MADISON AVE
NEW YORK, NY 10010-2201
(New York County)
Business Phone: (212) 340-0400
Date Admitted: 07/18/2003
Appellate Division Department of Admission: 1st
Law School: Albany Law School
Registration Status: Attorney - Currently Registered
Next Registration: Mar 2025
VOTER REGISTRATION:
Address: 780 CONCOURSE VLG W APT 15N
City: BRONX
State: NY
Postal Code: 10451
Party: Democrat
Date Of Registration: 10/10/1997
Additional Likely More Current Linked Address (Not from Voting Records): 228 E 135TH ST APT 2108S, BRONX, NY 10451
FUN FACT
Judges Kennedy and Rodriguez both attended the same high school but graduated 5 years apart, so do don't know if they knew each other before this or not.
REQUEST
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CONCLUSION
The First Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division appears to be an ideological echo chamber full of Democrats. You can learn more about the order in the video below. Trump's allies are doing what friends are supposed to do when a friend of theirs is on trial and cannot speak publicly, they're defending him in public by saying what he can't. We recommend this for anyone else facing criminal charges in this country. Ideally, you should have some people lined up to speak for you in the event that you are subject to a gag order in your case.