Janine Barbera-Dalli, former District Court judge, becomes law clerk in Suffolk

Former Suffolk District Court Judge Janine Barbera-Dalli has taken a job as a law clerk in state Supreme Court. Credit: James Escher
Former District Court Judge Janine Barbera-Dalli, who was reassigned after ethical issues were raised in a drug case she presided over, has gotten a job as a $133,215-a-year principal law clerk to state Supreme Court Justice Carol McKenzie.
Barbera-Dalli, a Conservative from Smithtown, did not run for re-election after she was accused in 2017 of texting prosecutors from the bench to advise them how to charge and try a case against a defendant in apparent violation of judicial ethics rules that bar judges from communicating privately with one side in a case.
She drew widespread condemnation from lawyers and legal ethicists for her actions, which included advising how to get Legal Aid removed from the case.
When prosecutors told Legal Aid lawyers about Barbera-Dalli's actions, she recused herself from the case, which involved heroin possession and loitering. Barbera-Dalli was later transferred to Small Claims Court.
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