ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602190037
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: TOM HAYS ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE VIOLENT ACTIONS of two men he set free have raised some questions.
When Maximo Pena thought his ex-girlfriend snubbed him on Valentine's Day, he responded by assaulting her, authorities say.
For Judge Lorin Duckman, the timing couldn't have been worse.
The judge had freed Pena, a convicted batterer, last July despite prosecutors' demand for a two-year jail term. Earlier this week, another convict, sprung by Duckman under similar circumstances, killed a woman.
The ugly outcome of the judge's decisions, combined with stories about his quirky style, are fueling efforts to get him removed.
Anti-Duckman protestors demonstrated Friday outside City Hall.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has labeled Duckman's record ``bizarre'' and ``sick.'' Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes suggested a demotion to traffic court. Gov. George Pataki questioned ``his fitness to continue to serve.''
Duckman, 48, hasn't responded publicly.
Mayor David Dinkins appointed Duckman to a 10-year judicial term in 1993. Sitting in Brooklyn Criminal Court, Duckman soon developed a reputation for leniency - and offbeat behavior.
The judge is known to inexplicably leave his bench and sit in the jury box during pretrial hearings. His memos are adorned with cartoon ducks.
His personal newsletter - called ``DuckNews'' - once featured a multiple-choice question about why Indiana required a prisoner to wear a hood during his execution by electric chair. Among the possible answers: To ``catch the vomit and broken teeth.''
Outside Brooklyn's legal community, Duckman went largely unnoticed until 12:40 p.m. Monday, when Benito Oliver, 35, walked into a Volkswagen dealership where his ex-girlfriend worked and shot her in the head. Oliver then turned his revolver on himself.
Already a convicted rapist, Oliver was accused last year of attacking Galina Komar three times, once putting a butcher knife to her throat. After making bail, he was jailed again for making harassing phone calls to Komar.
On Jan. 24 - over the objections of prosecutors who said the victim had been badly bruised - the judge lowered Oliver's bail to $2,000 from $5,000, ignoring Komar's pleas for protection and noting an absence of broken bones. Duckman also insisted that allowing Oliver to be reunited with his dog would cool his temper, according to court transcripts.
Pena found similar comfort in Duckman's courtroom, prosecutors said.
The 39-year-old Brooklyn man was convicted last July of harassing and attacking his ex-girlfriend, Evelyn Molina. The charges included hitting her over the head with a bottle.
The judge could have put Pena away for two years. Instead, he ruled that the 41 days the defendant spent in jail awaiting trial were enough, said Patrick Clark, a spokesman for Hynes.
Pena was given three months probation, but continued to harass Molina, authorities said. In August, the woman sought a court order barring Pena from threatening her, which Duckman signed.
Police said the order proved useless at 2 a.m. Thursday, when Pena dragged Molina down a flight of stairs in her home and punched her in the face. Officers arrived after Molina's 15-year-old daughter pushed a panic button installed by the district attorney's office.
Pena's defense attorney said his client had been upset that Molina hadn't brought him a Valentine. Another judge ordered him held without bail.
Under state law, Duckman could be forced out if the state Senate approved a request by the governor for his removal, the Assembly impeached him or the Commission on Judicial Conduct judged him incompetent.
On Friday, the mayor vowed to pursue all three options.But some argued the verdict on Duckman already is in.
``Crime victims ... ask only for common sense, respect, equal treatment, and simple justice,'' said Dennis Saffran, with the American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities. ``Galina Komar got none of these from Judge Duckman.''
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) DUCKMAN. color.by CNB