PROBING RUDY'S RELEASE OF RECORDS

Judge Orders Inquiry In Dorismond Case

Invoking a rarely used city law, a state Supreme Court judge yesterday
ordered a court probe into Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's release of police
shooting victim Patrick Dorismond's sealed criminal record.

Public Advocate Mark Green had requested the probe, called a summary
judicial inquiry, to determine whether Giuliani "violated or neglected
his duties" by releasing the records in violation of state law "and
his oath of office."

Dorismond, a 26-year-old security guard, was unarmed when an
undercover police detective fatally shot him March 16 in Manhattan. A
fight broke out when Dorismond angrily rebuffed a query by undercover
officers on where they could buy marijuana. No criminal charges were
filed against Det. Anthony Vasquez, who shot Dorismond once in the
chest.

After the slaying, Giuliani and Police Commissioner Howard Safir
sought to deflect criticism of police by disclosing that Dorismond had
been arrested on a robbery charge in 1987, when he was 13. The case
was never prosecuted, and the record was supposed to be secret by law.

Green filed suit seeking a judicial inquiry under a section of the
City Charter that has been used infrequently since it was created in
1873.

"The court's decision today recognizes that Mayor Giuliani,
Commissioner Safir and others must be held accountable for their
conduct during this tragic incident," Green said at an afternoon news
conference at City Hall. " Expediency cannot be a justification for
ignoring the law and the rights of individual New Yorkers."

City attorneys had argued that the law was unconstitutional and that,
at any rate, it was designed to fight municipal corruption. They also
argued that since Dorismond was dead, it was legal to release the records.

But State Supreme Court Justice Louise Gruner Gans said the law's
legality had been upheld before and that it applied to illegal release
of juvenile court records. She also rejected the claim that
Dorismond's records could be released legally after his death.

"The ability and willingness of the mayor...to bypass the sealing
safeguards...to ignore the procedures for judicial unsealing and
disseminate information contained in sealed records at will, presents
a question as to the functioning of municipal government of sufficient
importance to warrant a summary inquiry," the judge ruled.

Under the law, the mayor, police commissioner and other officials
could be forced to testify under oath, questioned by lawyers for
Green. They could not be charged with a crime, but a report could be
issued.

Green said he preferred not to conduct an inquiry and would withdraw
the case if Giuliani apologized and promised not to repeat his actions.

Giuliani has acknowledged it was a mistake not to show more compassion
toward the Dorismond family.

Giuliani accused Green, a likely candidate for mayor next year, of
seeking publicity and said the decision will be appealed.

Eric Lane, Hofstra University law professor and director of the 1989
Charter Revision Commission, cautioned that yesterday's ruling did not
find the mayor guilty but allowed an inquiry "that allows the public
to know what happened."