Former prosecutor Anne Adams pleads not guilty in DWI case
Officials deny she got special treatment
Former prosecutor Anne E. Adams was arraigned on drunken-driving charges Thursday, and the courtroom proceedings sparked a battle over whether there had been an attempt to keep her case “under the radar.”
Defense attorney Leonard E. Krawczyk Jr. charged in Town of Hamburg Court that Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark broke a “gentlemen’s agreement” in the case by leaking witnesses’ affidavits contained in a defense motion to get the case quickly dismissed.
Assistant District Attorney Bethany A. Solek objected to those comments.
Clark, who wasn’t in the courtroom, denied leaking anything and clarified the “gentlemen’s agreement” made between his office and Krawczyk.
“My agreement with him was that I would not make public the contents of that affidavit until the arraignment, at which point it became a public document,” Clark said. “That was my gentlemen’s agreement, and I kept my part of the agreement.”
Clark added: “They wanted a secret arraignment and sealed affidavits. They thought they would get this done under the radar, get it disposed of quickly and walk away. That’s not the way it’s done.”
Clark also pointed out that his office has handled this case the same way it handles dozens of other high-profile cases.
“The thought that it would be handled differently from those other cases is amazing to me,” he said. “The system just doesn’t work that way.”
Adams, 46, of Angola, who has been mentioned recently as a possible judicial candidate, was arrested on the aggravated DWI charge, in addition to other charges, on Sept. 2 in the Town of Hamburg. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment.
A State Supreme Court justice, a police lieutenant and a doctor all have filed legal papers supporting her claims that she wasn’t drunk that night.
Krawczyk prepared the legal papers containing the motion to dismiss the charges, and he stamped them “under seal.”
The paperwork submitted to town court included a signed affidavit from State Supreme Court Justice Joseph G. Makowski, who was with Adams roughly an hour before her arrest.
But a copy of the affidavit that Krawczyk submitted to the district attorney did not include Makowski’s name, nor was it signed.
When Krawczyk sought Thursday to have the dismissal motion argued during Adams’ appearance in court, the prosecutors objected.
Solek and Lynette M. Reda, chief of the Erie County district attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau, said they needed a copy of the affidavit that included Makowski’s name and his signature. They also asked for 10 days to review the affidavit before responding to it in court.
Hamburg Town Justice Gerald Gorman ruled none of the paperwork should be considered sealed, and he provided a copy of Makowski’s signed affidavit to prosecutors. He scheduled Krawczyk and prosecutors to return to court Oct. 2, although Adams does not have to appear for that hearing.
Krawczyk said he thought he had an agreement with Clark to argue for dismissal before the arraignment.
The defense lawyer said he didn’t see why the motion could not have been argued Thursday. Prosecutors knew the unsigned affidavit was from Makowski, even though his name did not appear on their copy, he said.
“Frank seemed to indicate to me he knew,” Krawczyk said. “It was personally delivered, and they had it in their hands for eight days. He had plenty of time to respond.”
Earlier this week, Krawczyk asked the court if Adams had to appear at the arraignment. The court said she did.
“The idea of a secret arraignment was never discussed,” Krawczyk said. “The only thing discussed was waiving her appearance at the arraignment.”
Before Thursday, Clark did not object to arguing the motion on the day of the arraignment, Krawczyk said.
Why did the defense attorney want the motion argued then?
“If the motion was granted, she wouldn’t have to go through the public embarrassment and humiliation of appearing in court [at an arraignment],” he said.
Instead, Adams’ appearance was covered by print and broadcast reporters, and the outcome of the case is uncertain.
Clark said there have been no discussions about a possible plea deal in this case.
“They know what my plea policies are,” he said. “I’ll offer a standard DWI, and I presume they’re not interested in that.”
Adams was accused of having a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 percent after her arrest Sept. 2. Clark has said that his office routinely offers people with that level a chance to plead down from aggravated DWI to a regular DWI. The police report states that Adams failed all four roadside sobriety tests she was given, such as standing on one leg for more than a few seconds.
The Hamburg police officer said he pulled her vehicle over at about 7:45 that night when he saw her Ford Thunderbird convertible weaving from lane to lane, nearly striking a guardrail, according to Town of Hamburg police reports.
Krawczyk said prosecutors already have treated her case differently from others.
Three assistant district attorneys were in the Hamburg courtroom Thursday, and Adams’ case was handled by two prosecutors who do not normally handle misdemeanor charges there, he said.
“I can’t remember the last time they had three assistant district attorneys in the courtroom for an arraignment,” said Krawczyk, former chief of the Erie County district attorney’s DWI Bureau. “They sent a bureau chief, and the other [assistant] district attorney handling the case is not the regular one in Hamburg.”
Prosecutors also objected to Adams’ receiving a conditional license that would allow her to drive to work and back.
“I’ve never seen a district attorney take that position,” Krawczyk said.
Gorman said she could drive.
In court papers, Krawczyk contends that Adams was chewing gum at the time she was given the breath test. Residual alcohol from the gum may have contaminated the test result.
In his affidavit, Makowski said he was with Adams from 2 to 5 p. m. on a professional basis and then met with her from 5:30 to 7:15 p. m. at Shanghai Red’s restaurant to talk about changes Adams was considering for a University at Buffalo Law School program.
She ordered two glasses of wine and a water with lime while he was with her at the waterfront restaurant, he said.
There was nothing in her speech, gait or mannerisms that indicated she was intoxicated, Makowski said. The two drove separately. He followed her on Route 5 for about 15 minutes, because she was headed for her Angola home and he was driving to South Buffalo.
He said he had no concerns about her ability to drive.
“Ms. Adams has a 20-year, high-profile career as both a prosecutor and defense attorney. She also holds a full-time faculty position at UB Law School,” Makowski wrote in the affidavit. “These charges, even if resulting in an acquittal, would seriously damage her reputation in the community and future professional prospects. For these reasons, I believe a dismissal in the interests of justice is warranted.”
plakamp@buffnews.com and gwarner@buffnews.com
