New York – As police prepared to remove more evidence from Levy Aron’s attic apartment, his legal team suffered a body-blow today.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Defense co-counsel Gerard Marrone abruptly resigned from the case, telling Eyewitness News that he simply could not in good conscience continue to represent Aron, who is accused of abducting and murdering an 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky in Brooklyn.
“The allegations were too horrific, and it’s not something I wanted to be involved in,” he told Eyewitness News. “I have three boys. One of my sons is seven. I looked at my own children and there are no words. You see the victim and you feel so sad.”
Marrone admitted there was a time earlier this week when he cried over the death of Leiby Kletzky.
Marrone and his co-counsel Pierre Bazile suggested last week that Aron was schizophrenic and said they were considering an insanity defense.
Bazile sought to downplay that speculation this afternoon
“Reports in the press that a so-called ‘insanity defense’ is planned are premature,” he said in a statement. “Please refrain from publishing this erroneous information.”
People in the community we spoke with insisted that an insanity plea would be an injustice.
This speaks volumes.
Good for him to escape his moment of insanity. This just proves that the other lawyer, Pierre Bazile, is insane if he stays with the case.
At least he found his conscience.
Because of the protected rights of Attorney Client privacy, the lawyer can’t tell us what the murderer told him (perhaps) in private that he is not at all crazy and knew exactly what he is doing and planed it in advance and that they the victim and killer knew each other, long before the day the child disappeared etc.
If the Lawyer knows it all, and the killer is brave enough to let the world knew later that he told his lawyer the truth, form the begining, that he is guilty, the Lawyer will end up going down in the hall of shame trying an insanity defense when he knows full well that his client is 100% perfectly sane but evil.
He had no choice but to quit.
Thank you Mr. Marrone for seeing this vicious, cold-blooded murderer for what he is, a menace who needs to be exterminated.
Sure, he saw they’re losing the case to a life sentence, so he’s putting up this whole innocent show.
He knew it’s horrific from the first minute, he should never have taken this case to help this animal.
How much longer till his next lawyer quits the case?? Really there is nothing to say in his defense, so why try and become (in)famous by undertaking to defend such a cruel (in)human being?? Mr. Bazile, why not try to get famous elsewhere?!?! Perhaps you wanna take a good look at your own kids before you make another move in this case, all in the name of making money, on someone’s precious and cold blooded murdered child??
Can a lawer simply quit? Dousn’t a defendant have a right to a lawer? I thought a lawer must not refuse any case?
Don’t attack me on this. I just want to know in generel what the law is.
Any lawer out there can you explain this one to me. Thanks.
Everyone charged with a crime is entitled to a defense lawyer, even Mr Arion. These lawyers are most probably court appointed funded by us the taxpayers. By defending a client, the lawyer doesn’t endorse the perps crime, or believe that he’s innocent, he’s just representing him through the process.
If the lawyer has a problem representing him, think fow hard it will be to find jurors!
This guy is no “Moron.” He deserves our respect. Good for him!
He needs to ask the court permission to quit and if there is alternative counsel the court will generally approve.
Nothing whatsoever that Bazille has done is worthy of legitimate crticism, he has been completely professional, has shown sympathy and fully understands his role in the process. He has not expressed any personal feelings because doing so would be unprofessional, and that is precisely why Marrone withdrew. Anyone that understands the process knows that the better the murderer is represented, the harder an appeal on insufficient counsel grounds is, so in fact, I only hope Bazille does his utmost to defend his client, if only to insure the most justified outcome can be achieved. Any comments to the contrary are from the unintelligent and misinformed.
It’s ridiculous to the point of stupidity that vin readers want to skip the arraignment, the evidentiary hearings, the trial, and the verdict, and go straight to the lynching. Hmmmm, now when in history can we all recall that such was the case?
They are court appointed stop bashing the lawyers! They are just doing their jobs!!
Every defendant is entitled to counsel, it is a constitutional right. Mr. Marrone felt that he could not represent the defendant to the best of his ability, so he resigned. I do not think that Geoffrey Fieger is licensed to practice law in New York, because he would take this case in a heartbeat.
This news went national, it will be nearly impossible to find impartial jurors.
No juror on earth could find this monster not guilty, not for insanity or any other reason
this was not a court appointed lawyer, his family (yes his family) retained the lawyer, the lawyer was on good morning america and said that he was retained be the family….
Under certain circumstances. Generally speaking, the states’ rules of professional conduct permit an attorney to dump a client if the breakup won’t hurt him, such at the very beginning of the case, or if there’s a suitable replacement waiting in the wings. (That’s the rationale King & Spalding have used to withdraw from the Defense of Marriage Act case.) However, abandonment may be acceptable even if it harms the client’s interests, especially if the client has done something wrong. For example, a lawyer can walk away if the client is engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise, if he’s using the lawyer to perpetuate his illegal scheme, or if the client asks the lawyer to do something illegal himself. Deadbeat clients also risk abandonment, as do those who refuse to cooperate in their own representation. If the case has already been filed with a court, the lawyer usually needs the judge’s blessing to bow out. In non-litigation matters, no special permission is required. – cite SLATE
these are not court appointed lawyers. they are privately hired as stated by bazile. mr. marrone is to be credited for this move.
Monroe H. Freedman, Professor at Hofstra, details the case of a Lawyer’s Trilemma, The attorney has an obligation to fight for the client’s interests, a responsibility to identify perjury to the court, and a duty to keep his client’s secrets.
I wish say this. glad it happened earlier, wouldn’t want this lawyer’s actions to sacrifice the case. Did he know what he was getting into when he filed right? Usually the lawyers find out a rough account of their prospective clients case and then they choose to go forward or decline.
A lawyer with a conscience, now thats a new one …
Please. Marrone knew the gruesome circumstances when he signed on. I suspect that the lead attorney (Bazille) was doing too much of the leading and Marrone simply
didn’t want to be the shlepper sidekick.
Which “family” does he have to pay for his lawyers? His mother died, sister commited suicide….his dysfunctional father?
He had every right to step down.he is a father. How can anyone defend this man and sleep at night?
They may need to appoint Ted Bundy and Jeff Dalmer to be his lawyer. If there’s is no one else..
The guy will have his day in Court. Whether these guys bow out or not. Why all the bickering if these guys were hired or wanted fame -it’s irrevelant? There is a gov. office called the Public Defenders office; they handle all criminal defense cases if the criminal can’t afford to hire one himself. Even if Aron can afford a lawyer (which I doubt) and noone wants to take the case, then he gets a lawyer from the Public Defenders office. Sometimes a Judge will barr a lawyer from leaving a case, but not in this case. No Judge will force these lawyers to keep it, due to the nature of the crime. The Judge will just assign it to the Public Defenders. They don’t have a choice whether to refuse it or not!
Pierre Bazile Esq.
Attorney at Law P.C.
273 Walt Whitman Rd. Suite #108
Huntington Station, NY 11746
-and-
220 Old Country Rd.
Mineola, NY 11501
Pierre Bazile Esq. is a retired P.O. from the the New York City Police Department, and offers representation in areas including:
Criminal
Traffic/DWI
Landlord/Tennant
Disciplinary Proceedings
General Litigation
Don’t worry, I am certain some Jewish liberal leftist (maybe from Peace Now etc.) will take the case.
@seymour whos that mr renitz u mentioned? couldnt find any info about this on the net. and well i think the diff between bundy and here is that its a jew who killed and did this to jewish kid and all in bp…a shock!!! of course aron levi is not worse or better than bundy and co. but still…..
The best thing this piece of human waste could do, is to hang himself or find some other way and spare the poor parents of having to re-live this horror at trial.
Name:Aron, Levi
Birth Year:1976
NYSID:23575P
Arrest Date & Time:July 13, 2011 03:30
Arrest #:K11667856
Officer
Agency:NYPD
Command:66
Back to Index Attorney InformationDefense Attorney
Name:X,
Type:Private (Retained)
Court Date:July 14, 2011
This is good publicity for this lawyer for his future business.
It makes it look like he only takes cases when he believes in the innocence of his clients. Who wants to be known for defending a baby killer?