The Manhattan judge presiding over civil-rights challenges to stop-and-frisk has no doubt where she stands with the government.
“I’m not their favorite,” US District Judge Shira Scheindlin told The Associated Press on Friday.
It was but the latest moment of candor for a judge known for her call-it-as-she-sees-it manner and willingness to confront government lawyers in a courthouse where many judges, former prosecutors themselves, seem less inclined.
“I treat the government as one more litigant,” she said.
The trial has put the NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg on the defensive as they try to justify stopping, questioning and frisking residents in a manner that critics say discriminates against blacks and Latinos.
Scheindlin, who is 66 and was appointed by President Bill Clinton, is not being asked to ban stop-and-frisk — since it’s been found to be legal — but she does have the power to change how it’s implemented.
“That’s why people want to be judges, I think, so they can make a difference,” she said.