A jury delivered a mixed verdict in the case of a prosecutor turned author who sued Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes for allegedly trampling his right to free speech – prompting both sides to claim victory yesterday.
Jurors deliberated two hours before finding that Hynes demoted Robert Reuland from a prestigious position in the homicide bureau in March 2001 over controversial statements Reuland made in a magazine article promoting his first crime novel.
The February 2001 New York magazine article touted the book “Hollowpoint” and quoted Reuland saying, “Brooklyn is the best place to be a homicide prosecutor. We’ve got more dead bodies per square inch that anyplace else.”
While the jury ruled against Hynes in finding that Reuland’s statement was a motivating factor in the DA’s demotion decision, the panel tossed all of Reuland’s claims that he was then wrongly forced to resign four months later.
The jury is set to decide today whether Reuland should get any money damages.
A key question that remains unclear is whether Reuland’s First Amendment rights were violated, because the jury found that the ex-assistant district attorney’s statement was not “a matter of public concern.”
“Deciding which of you is right is not the easiest call in the world,” said Brooklyn federal Judge John Gleeson, who added that he would weigh in on the issue after the jury has delivered the second prong of its verdict.
“I think I won, absolutely, because ultimately we’re going to find out it wasn’t protected speech,” Hynes said outside of court, adding that Reuland received no cut in his $86,000 salary at the time of his demotion.
Meanwhile, Reuland said, “I feel my First Amendment rights have been vindicated.”
Hynes had claimed he demoted Reuland because he believed the prosecutor had conned his way into the high-profile homicide bureau in order to sell more books.
The DA stuck to this explanation yesterday, despite the jury’s rejection of this explanation in a separate question on the verdict sheet.