A Superior Court judge Tuesday voluntarily removed himself from a drug case involving the former dean of students at Derby Middle School.
William LaRovera, the former dean, has four felonies pending in criminal court after allegedly bringing painkillers into the Derby Middle School Sept. 8.
Rob Serafinowicz is LaRovera’s lawyer.
In September, Serafinowicz filed a motion in Superior Court asking Judge Burton Kaplan to recuse himself from the case. In Serafinowicz’ motion, the lawyer referenced a complaint he said he filed against Judge Kaplan with the Judicial Review Commission.
The judge, Serafinowicz claimed, had a personal grudge against him and was biased against Serafinowicz’ clients.
In court Tuesday, Judge Kaplan denied Serafinowicz’s motion. But the judge took himself off the LaRovera case anyway, saying he did not want LaRovera to think he wasn’t getting a “fair shake” from the judge.
Judge Kaplan noted that he had no idea Serafinowicz had filed the motion in Derby court — or that Serafinowicz had filed a complaint with judicial review — until he learned reporters were asking about the complaint earlier this month.
The Valley Independent Sentinel first reported on Serafinowicz’s issues with Judge Kaplan on Feb. 8.
Furthermore, Judge Kaplan noted that Serafinowicz appeared before him five times since September and never mentioned the motion or the complaint he said he filed with Judicial Review.
Judge Kaplan said he checked with Judicial Review last week and was told that Serafinowicz’s complaint was sent back to the lawyer because it didn’t contain specific allegations.
“There is no complaint filed against me in judicial review,” Judge Kaplan said.
Serafinowicz said he refiled the complaint with Judicial Review last week.
Judge Kaplan repeatedly questioned why Serafinowicz never mentioned his motion or complaint in open court.
“You didn’t tell me,” Judge Kaplan said. “You let it sit for five months.”
Kaplan said Serafinowicz “led the press to the (court) clerk’s office” to get coverage of his motion to get the judge off the case.
He compared Serafinowicz’s action to a card player pulling out a last-minute trump card.
“That’s not the way you practice law,” Judge Kaplan said.
Judge Kaplan said he would contact Judge Richard Arnold in Superior Court in Milford so that another judge could be assigned to LaRovera’s criminal case.
The case was continued to March 26.
Outside court, Serafinowicz held an impromptu press conference on the sidewalk, going on a five-minute tirade against Kaplan and defending his desire to have the judge removed from the case.
Serafinowicz said judges have the ability to “do whatever they want” and operate behind a “veil of secrecy.”
He provided the Valley Indy with a document dated Feb. 27 he said shows the Judicial Review Council received and is reviewing his complaint against the judge.
Rhonda Stearley-Hebert, the manager of communications for the state’s Judicial Branch, said Judge Kaplan has not received notice of a complaint.
Click play on the video above to watch about a minute of the lawyer’s statements.
“The man’s a disgrace to the bench and he shouldn’t be sitting on the bench,” Serafinowicz said. “It’s very, very clear that the man does not give people a fair shake.”
Serafinowicz said he did not discuss the motion in open court because the Judicial Review Commission had requested more information from him. In addition, the motion wouldn’t be discussed until the LaRovera case was ready for a trial, he said.
LaRovera qualifies for accelerated rehabilitation, a form of probation for first-time offenders. It allows a defendant’s criminal record to be wiped clean if he stays out of trouble for a set period of time.
LaRovera is charged with narcotics possession, possession of narcotics near a school, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failing to store narcotics in the proper container.
He was arrested after Derby Middle School principal Sally Bonina allegedly found 66 Roxicodone (generic oxycodone) pills in two plastic bags belonging to LaRovera, along with a clear plastic tube with a powdery residue in it.
The items were allegedly found inside LaRovera’s computer bag. Bonina searched the bag because she had become concerned with his behavior and she suspected him of using tobacco on school grounds, according to an arrest warrant.
LaRovera resigned from the school district in November 2011.