Defense lawyers for the suspected 1979 murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz filed papers Monday asking that the former lead prosecutor on the case be barred from any “public role” in the retrial.
Joan Illuzzi resigned from the Manhattan DA’s Office shortly after she prosecuted Pedro Hernandez, with the trial ending in a deadlock over a lone holdout juror last May to run for Staten Island DA.
During the campaign, Illuzzi frequently discussed the high-profile case against the former bodega worker charged in Patz’s kidnap and murder.
Etan’s father Stan Patz even endorsed her run. She lost the race in November and recently announced that she had rejoined the office and would help retry the Hernandez case alongside veteran prosecutor Joel Seidemann.
But defense lawyer Harvey Fishbein argued in court papers filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court that, “Ms. Illuzzi made the prosecution of Pedro Hernandez the centerpiece of her ultimately unsuccessful campaign… directly violating the New York Rules of Professional Conduct.”
Fishbein continued, “Given the damage that Ms. Illuzzi statements have done to the potential jury pool, and her recognizability to potential jury members as a person who believes in Mr Hernandez’s guilt, Ms. Illuzzi must be precluded from appearing in front of the jury or having any public role in Mr. Hernandez’s retrial.”
A judge is expected to rule on the motion in advance of the second trial set for Feb. 22. The Manhattan DA’s Office declined to comment.