Judge With a Grudge

Bail-fail judge with a grudge
The New York Post by Amber Sutherland, Kirstan Conley and Bob Fredericks  -  August 31, 2011

The rookie Bronx judge who has been allowing violent criminals to walk free without bail despises her job -- and hopes she'll force a transfer from the rough-and-tumble Criminal Court to the cushier civil division, a well-placed source told The Post.  Carol "Set 'Em Free" Feinman, 57, was elected as a $125,000-a-year civil court judge, but was bumped to criminal court immediately after her Jan. 3 start date because of a heavy backlog of cases.  "She's unhappy on the criminal side," the law-enforcement source said. "Most of the judges who get transferred step up to the plate."  Feinman had no criminal-law experience before she was elected, having served 25 years as an administrative-law judge, earning nearly $87,000 in that job in 2009.  Cops and Bronx prosecutors are outraged that Feinman has free rein to let dangerous perps walk free, beholden to no one except voters in 2020.  A source said no complaints have been filed against the judge and it is unclear if any action could be taken against her if they had.  Court spokesman David Bookstaver declined to comment on Feinman's status -- but suggested a transfer is possible.  "The decisions about judicial assignments for next year will be addressed in the fall," he said.  Feinman -- a longtime West Village activist and former chair of Community Board 2 -- yesterday snapped at a Post photographer outside her apartment.  'Get the f - - k away from me or I'm calling the police!" she snarled.  Among her rogues' gallery of freed thugs is Ramon Barroso, 45, an ex-con with four burglary convictions since 1985.  The career thug was charged with breaking into the Miracle Provider City Church in The Bronx on June 29, after cops matched his DNA to a sample from a safe.  Barroso told cops he was an expert safe cracker who would have worn gloves.  At his arraignment, prosecutors asked for $50,000 bail -- but Feinman incredibly declined.  "I am going to release the defendant," she said. "I think his past history would indicate that if he were to commit a burglary, he would be smart enough to wear gloves."  Pastor Kenneth Hunter was dumbfounded.  "I'm not looking to judge the person, but the person should have a judge. Until that time, he should be held so that he cannot commit these same crimes," Hunter said.  In another controversial case, she released a teen with a previous gun arrest who allegedly mugged a cop, ignoring the assistant DA's request for $25,000 bail.  And she also sprang an accused armed robber because she didn't buy the victim's story that he was able to overpower his attacker.  Additional reporting by Daniel Gold, Helen Freund, Larry Celona