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By Dan Murphy
Here’s another story we received about the outgoing Chief Justice of the NY State Court of Appeals, former Westchester DA Janet DiFiore. This one is a classic tale of a whistleblower who did the right thing and got fired for it, in the final months of DiFiore’s leadership of the NYS Office of Court Administration, OCA.
There are some things in our society that are deemed so inappropriate that they should never be done or repeated. Saying the N word is one example that our society has rightfully labeled off limits for someone who is not a person of color. Connotating any horrible event with the Holocaust, or associating in any way with the Nazis should be another common sense -don’t go there moment.
An upstate court officer has contacted Yonkerstimes.com about a disturbing incident that he recorded in an effort to prove that the event actually occurred in an upstate court room. On October 2, 2019, Chief Clerk Katherine Thompson of the Warren County Family Court, held a “laughter Yoga class” in one of the Family Court courtrooms. The courtroom doors were closed and locked at the request of Thompson-for the purpose of a wellness practice to create “real, sustained, genuine laughter” from its participants.
The idea that Clerk Thompson had was to have all march around the courtroom with their right arm raised in a Nazi-style salute. Some of the participants took it to another level, with one-person goose stepping around the courthouse with their arm raised; another participant can be overheard on the video saying “Sieg Heil.”
Court Officer Matthew Campbell was working on the metal detector that day. He had access to all of the video cameras in each of the courtrooms, and he saw what was happening with Clerk Thompson and her marchers.
Alarmed at what he saw, Campbell took a video from his cell phone of the video in the courtroom. As a result of trying to expose wrongdoing, the court officer, Matthew Campbell was terminated after the video was leaked and ended up in the hands of the Chief Judge of New York State, Janet DiFiore.
At a hearing to determine if Court Officer Campbell should be fired, the hearing report states, “Clerk Thompson led several laughter yoga exercises during the class. One of the exercises – the “army greeting laughter” exercise – prompted the circumstances of this proceeding. Clerk Thompson and the participants marched around the courtroom and saluted each other while laughing. Sergeant Gatt, Officer Ryerson, Officer Campbell, and even Clerk Thompson testified that her saluting and marching, and some of the participant’s marching, resembled salutes and goose-stepping associated with Nazi Germany soldiers.
Court Officer Campbell, shocked at what he saw on his video camera, “admitted using his personal cell phone to record video from the court security monitor depicting part of the class. He also admitted that he texted the video from his personal cell phone to his fellow officers on the same day as when he recorded the video, on October 2, 2019.”
Campbell testified, “I saw the chief clerk of family court, Kate Thompson, marching around the courtroom for probably approximately 30 seconds or so in an army-like nature, being described lightly as a Nazi salute.” The activity “disturbed” him, and he reported it to Sergeant Gatt as the exercise was happening. According to Officer Campbell, Sergeant Gatt watched the court security monitor and did nothing in response to watching the class.
Campbell said that he did not alter the video which has been confirmed by a video expert. Forensic Scientist and video expert Drew Caprood viewed the video provided to Yonkerstimes.com. He opined, “I examined the video, and it is legitimate and unaltered.”
The reason Campbell shared the video with his fellow court officers was to make sure “they at least had a heads up that this is the actions that we are dealing with.”
In an interview with the Inspector General’s office, who was tasked to conduct an investigation, Campbell added, “I take my job seriously and I reported it to the supervisor and as with other issues. It seemed to go on deaf ears. In the past if something like that had happened, I would have been advised to do an unusual occurrence report or do a summary of the situation and forward it to my supervisor. There was nothing done..and I didn’t want it coming back and somebody saying I’m not doing my job…I feel like part of my duty is to watch the video and see what is going on in the courtrooms.”
For five months after the incident, no action was taken against Clerk Thompson or against Court Officer Campbell. But, according to the hearing report, ”On March 15, 2021, a person with the email address gradylittle514@gmail.com emailed Judge Marks, copying Chief Judge DiFiore, writing, “Maybe the Warren County Family Court Chief Clerk and her clerks shouldn’t be goose stepping around the courtroom throwing up the Nazi salute. News would love this . . One of the videos had a voice in the background saying, what sounds like, “Sieg Heil,” and the other video depicting the exercise does not have sound.”
So what did Chief Judge DiFiore do with this video? Did she take action against the person who initiated the Nazi march, Clerk Thompson? No, no action was ever taken against Thompson, who still has her position today.
But actions were taken against Campbell, which included an order confiscating his guns and suspending his gun permit in May, 2021, two months after the video landed in DiFiore’e computer. Campbell’s license was suspended by Deputy Chief Justice Vito Caruso. This action prevented Campbell from performing his duties as a licensed Court Office, and he could only work in an unarmed position.
Several legal scholars question the decision to pull Campbell’s gun permit because he took a video inside the courtroom, claiming that one has nothing to do with the other. Campbell should not have been considered a risk to the community because he took a courtroom video of this sort.
The other question raised in this investigation was who sent DiFiore the recording? Campbell has testified that it was not him. “I took the video, I shared it with my officers, my co-workers that I work with, I did not send that video to Mr. Marks and Chief Judge DiFiore. I did not do that sir.” Testified Campbell.
After losing his gun permit, a hearing in then held to determine if Campbell should be fired. The Office of Court Administration, OCA, called for Campbell to be fired. But the hearing officer Matthew Lerner disagreed, writing in his decision. “The Petitioner strenuously argues that Officer Campbell should be dismissed from his service as a New York State court officer. While I recognize the seriousness nature of Officer Campbell’s actions on October 2, 2019, I cannot recommend his termination. Numerous mitigating factors set forth below support a lesser discipline than termination.”
“I credit Officer Campbell’s testimony that he wanted some way of documenting that he was performing his duties and saw and acted accordingly when witnessing odd behavior in one of the courtrooms,” wrote Lerner, who recommended that Campbell be placed on probation for six months, and that he be directed to remove or delete any copies of the video. After issuing his recommendation, Lerner resigned his position as a hearing officer, and Campbell was not suspended but was fired, three weeks later, on May 23, 2022, by the Hon. Norman St. George, who was appointed Deputy Chief Administrative Judge by Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks, with the consultation and approval of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.
It is also important to note that Court Office Campbell received a positive job performance from his superior on March 28, 2022, two months before he was fired. “CO Campbell handles all members of the public and court staff with respect. Is able to diffuse tense situations and takes appropriate action if that does not work,” reads his evaluation.
Officer Campbell has filed an Article 78 Legal proceeding in Albany where he is seeking his lost wages and his job back, and his gun permits restored.
Many of those in the legal community that we spoke to were disappointed in Judge DiFiore for her decisions concerning this incident. Specifically, why she turned her focus on Campbell and not Clerk Thompson.
“There is nothing funny about anything to do with the Nazis and the six million Jews they killed. I am ashamed of what she did or did not do. As a practicing attorney in New York State, I do not wish for my name to be published for possible retribution,” said one Westchester attorney.
Another NYC lawyer told us, “He (Campbell) did not deserve to be fired. Just the opposite, I applaud his actions and find him to be a true whistleblower. She (DiFiore) is tone deaf. This is hate speech occurring in a New York State Courtroom.”
Forensic Scientist Michael Archer, who has expertise in religion and hate crimes remarked, “The only thing laughable about the video is the Chief Clerk’s preposterous explanation.”
The other marchers in the court room, whose identity we cannot FOIL to find out who they are, haven’t said a word and remain quiet in the hopes that they will keep their jobs.
No criminal charges were ever filed against Campbell, 40, who served as a Court Officer for more than six years before his decision to record abhorrent behavior in a court room that he took an oath to protect, resulted in his termination.
Clerk Thompson testified that, “she was unaware her marching during the class could be viewed as imitating Nazi Germany soldiers,” and has yet to express any remorse for what she did.
