Judge to examine police conduct in LT arrest
Lawrence Taylor and his lawyer Arthur Idala leave the Ramapo Police Department, where Taylor was arraigned on charges of third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute. (May 6, 2010) Credit: AP
NEW CITY, N.Y. - The judge in the Lawrence Taylor case has agreed to examine further if police officers violated the former football player's rights when they entered his hotel room without a warrant, Taylor's attorney said Tuesday.
Attorney Arthur Aidala argued in a recent court filing that the police officers' actions were illegal. Taylor is facing felony statutory rape and solicitation charges in connection with a May 6 arrest.
"That is the issue that Mr. Taylor is pursuing quite aggressively," Aidala said outside Rockland County Courthouse after a brief hearing Tuesday morning. "The officers did not have any authority to enter at that point without a warrant. They definitely did not have a warrant."
Taylor, 51, was in court for the hearing but did not speak. The former Giants linebacker, who is due back in court Dec. 23, is accused of soliciting a prostitute in his hotel room in Suffern in a case involving a 16-year-old runaway from the Bronx. According to the criminal complaint filed after his arrest, Taylor admitted to police officers that he paid $300 in exchange for sex.
Taylor has already pleaded not guilty and is free on $75,000 bail.
The judge Tuesday also set a schedule for submitting motions leading up to a pre-trial hearing set for Jan. 6, which Aidala said could include the cross examination of police officers who arrested Taylor.
Prosecutors are confident the evidence gathered by police will stand up. "Everything that occurred was done properly and in full accordance with the law," Rockland County chief assistant district attorney Arthur Ferraro said. "There was probable cause to believe that Lawrence Taylor had just had sex with a girl under 17 in that room."
Outside court, Aidala also reiterated that Taylor's defense team remains open to discussing a plea deal with the Rockland County District Attorney's office, but said he is not optimistic about reaching one. "Unfortunately, I believe on Jan. 6 we'll be going into a hearing," he said.
Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe recently told The Journal News of Westchester that they have offered Taylor a chance to plead guilty to the top sex counts and face up to six months in the county jail, along with the mandatory 10 years' probation sentence, in lieu of a trial.
With AP
