July 17, 2003 -- If justice is blind, it could be because of a black eye.
A Manhattan pickpocket didn't like getting convicted, officials said, so she punched a female juror in the face outside the courthouse.
Octavia Williams, 44, was arraigned yesterday on misdemeanor assault charges - and was tossed in jail after the fracas.
She had been on trial for pickpocketing $160 from the purse of a New Jersey tourist in Times Square, and a Manhattan Supreme Court jury found her guilty after lunch Tuesday.
It had been an easy case. The jury had heard testimony from the crowd who'd chased Williams, including the stroller-pushing victim, her sister, and a number of passers-by.
Jurors had also heard from plainclothes officers whom she'd run right into. The cops say they found a couple of crack pipes on Williams - for which she also faces misdemeanor drug charges.
Justice Charles Tejada let Williams go free until her Aug. 12 sentencing, over the objections of prosecutors, who told the judge they'd be requesting a jail sentence and wanted her kept locked up until then.
Williams, of downtown Brooklyn, faces up to four years in prison on the pickpocketing charge. But instead of going down to the 10th-floor probation office to fill out paperwork, as ordered by the judge, Williams allegedly took her simmering grudge outside.
She stood outside court on the corner of Hogan Place and Centre Street, and - without so much as a "Hi, how are you" - punched in the face the first juror who crossed her path.
Williams then allegedly tussled with the court officers who tried to cuff her - leading to a further misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.
"I'm going to jail now?" witnesses said a surprised Williams asked the judge when she was brought back before him.
The pummeled panelist, Jeraldine Goldring, who had been trying to hail a cab home when she was socked in the eye, could not be reached for comment.
Experts said prospective jurors should fear not.
"This practically never happens - I've never heard of it," says Julia Vitullo-Martin, jury expert and former director of the city-based Citizens Jury Project.
"If she goes to trial on the juror-assault charge, it's not going to be easy finding impartial jurors," Vitullo-Martin quipped.
A Manhattan pickpocket didn't like getting convicted, officials said, so she punched a female juror in the face outside the courthouse.
Octavia Williams, 44, was arraigned yesterday on misdemeanor assault charges - and was tossed in jail after the fracas.
She had been on trial for pickpocketing $160 from the purse of a New Jersey tourist in Times Square, and a Manhattan Supreme Court jury found her guilty after lunch Tuesday.
It had been an easy case. The jury had heard testimony from the crowd who'd chased Williams, including the stroller-pushing victim, her sister, and a number of passers-by.
Jurors had also heard from plainclothes officers whom she'd run right into. The cops say they found a couple of crack pipes on Williams - for which she also faces misdemeanor drug charges.
Justice Charles Tejada let Williams go free until her Aug. 12 sentencing, over the objections of prosecutors, who told the judge they'd be requesting a jail sentence and wanted her kept locked up until then.
Williams, of downtown Brooklyn, faces up to four years in prison on the pickpocketing charge. But instead of going down to the 10th-floor probation office to fill out paperwork, as ordered by the judge, Williams allegedly took her simmering grudge outside.
She stood outside court on the corner of Hogan Place and Centre Street, and - without so much as a "Hi, how are you" - punched in the face the first juror who crossed her path.
Williams then allegedly tussled with the court officers who tried to cuff her - leading to a further misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.
"I'm going to jail now?" witnesses said a surprised Williams asked the judge when she was brought back before him.
The pummeled panelist, Jeraldine Goldring, who had been trying to hail a cab home when she was socked in the eye, could not be reached for comment.
Experts said prospective jurors should fear not.
"This practically never happens - I've never heard of it," says Julia Vitullo-Martin, jury expert and former director of the city-based Citizens Jury Project.
"If she goes to trial on the juror-assault charge, it's not going to be easy finding impartial jurors," Vitullo-Martin quipped.
