In rarity, U.S. judge takes witness stand in corruption appeal

By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge took the witness stand on Wednesday to defend her handling of the corruption case of former New York City councilman Larry Seabrook, who says he deserves a new trial after his brother and aide were allegedly excluded from watching jury selection. The rare sight, at a hearing in Manhattan federal court, came five months after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Seabrook, 63, could pursue his argument that his right to a public trial was violated. U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts said she had asked spectators in the courtroom to "vacate" their seats in order to allow prospective jurors to sit down during jury selection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Goldstein, who called Batts as a witness, asked, "Did you intend for the visitors to vacate the courtroom?" "No, to vacate the seats," Batts replied. Batts' colleague, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, presided over Wednesday's hearing and will issue findings of fact that could decide whether Seabrook will be tried for the third time on bribery, fraud and other charges. A decision is not expected until at least December. In 2012, the 2nd Circuit overturned a conviction on similar grounds in an unrelated case Batts also oversaw. The appeals court ruled that her decision to bar members of the public from observing jury selection was unconstitutional. Since then, she said on Wednesday, she has tried to balance the right of public access with the need for jurors to sit during the selection process. Oliver Seabrook, Larry Seabrook's brother, and Carl Green, his former aide, both testified on Wednesday that Batts' courtroom deputy approached them after they moved in response to her request and repeated that they had to make room. "I took it as an instruction to leave," Green said. In cross-examination, Goldstein emphasized that both Oliver Seabrook and Green owed much of their careers to Larry Seabrook. The government first prosecuted Seabrook in 2011 for illegally steering funds intended for community development to his girlfriend and relatives but the trial ended in a deadlocked jury. He was retried in 2012 on the same charges, and found guilty, leading to the current appeal. (Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by David Ingram and Diane Craft)